Another court blow for Gunns: company fails in legal bid to get personal details of conservationists

The Wilderness Society Inc
Media Release
3 September 2008

Timber giant Gunns Ltd today failed in its legal bid to force The Wilderness Society to provide contact addresses, phone numbers and other details of 128 conservationists. The bid was part of the long running Gunns20 case in the Victorian Supreme Court. Gunns had applied for a court order to force The Wilderness Society to produce database records and other documents which Gunns claimed were relevant to their claims. After a six month court battle, that application was dismissed in its entirety today.

In rejecting Gunns’ application, Master Evans accepted the oath of The Wilderness Society that the records were not relevant and that there was no good reason to “go behind” the oath in relation to any of the documents sought by Gunns.

The Wilderness Society’s Legal Coordinator, Dr Greg Ogle said

Gunns was seeking database records for a range of people whose names had come up in relation to the case or, in some instances, simply in relation to the broader campaign to protect Tasmania’s forests.

The Wilderness Society strongly resisted production of its database records because we support the privacy of the information given to us. If you sign a postcard, a petition, or you give your name at a stall or rally, I don’t think it is reasonable that your details get hauled up in court years afterwards. That possibility would make people think twice about participating in fundamental democratic activities, and having courts prying into such matters smacks of McCarthyest America, not a vibrant democratic Australia.

This document discovery process and court argument probably cost us over $150,000, a necessary expense for us, but one which we would not have to endure if our legal system protected the rights of the community to participate in public debate and political protest. The sooner we get law reform to protect public participation, the better.

The Gunns 20 case began in December 2004 when Gunns sued The Wilderness Society and 19 others for actions arising out of the campaign to protect Tasmania’s old growth forests. After three and half years, the case continues against 12 defendants with over half of the original claims being dropped.