Greens co-founder granted bail after blockade arrest
Greens co-founder Drew Hutton has been granted bail, a day after he was arrested and charged over his role in an anti-coal-seam-gas blockade in southwest Queensland.
Mr Hutton, a veteran environmental campaigner who co-founded the Australian Greens and Queensland Greens, was among a group of protesters on a property near Tara in southwest Queensland yesterday.
Police charged him with the "obstruction of a petroleum authority holder" and he was kept in custody ahead of his appearance in the Chinchilla Magistrates Court today.
Mr Hutton's wife, Greens spokeswoman Libby Connors, confirmed he had been granted bail ahead of his next court date on April 13.
Comment has been sought from Mr Hutton.
The drama came after landowners near Tara, west of Dalby, warned that protesters would form a blockade to stop a Queensland Gas Company pipeline coming into the community.
Dr Connors said yesterday the "Lock the Gate" blockade took place on a private property with the landowner's permission, but legislation meant the company had right of access.
She said her husband was arrested after refusing to move.
Fellow protester, 70-year-old great grandmother June Norman, also appeared in the Chinchilla Magistrates Court today.
She was arrested on March 15 and charged with disobeying police orders after she stood in front of a truck carrying a bulldozer outside the QGC station. She was fined $200 but no conviction was recorded.
Friends of the Earth member and fellow campaigner Cassie McMahon said Mr Hutton was among about 25 people at the site when police arrived yesterday.
"They told us under ... the Petroleum and Gas Act that we were not allowed to be there and that we had to leave the premises," she said yesterday.
"The remainder of us were in the process of departing when he [Mr Hutton] was arrested."
Mr Hutton had refused initial police bail conditions that he not return to the property or nearby public roads, Dr Connors said.
A Queensland Gas Company spokesman last night said the company had the necessary approvals for its work and the protest was unhelpful.
www.BrisbaneTimes.com.au
CONSUMER WATCH COMMENT: The Queensland Gas Company is acting in an anti-Queensland and anti-environment manner over this issue. By calling in the police, they have inflamed a very sensitive issue and, at the same time, have shown that they are past masters in putting profits ahead people and the good management of our state.
