From The Mercury

Brown's tip: Forget about it
By GAVIN LOWER
19jul05

AUSTRALIAN Greens senator Bob Brown has one recommendation for Gunns Ltd and its legal action against him and 19 other environmentalists and green groups.

"Pack up your bags and forget about it," he said on the steps of the Victorian Supreme Court in Melbourne yesterday.

Senator Brown was speaking after Justice Bernard Bongiorno struck out a statement of claim by Gunns against him and his fellow defendants and allowed Gunns to prepare a new statement of claim.

Gunns is suing the environmentalists, for $6.3 million in damages.

The company alleges they caused it financial harm through their protest actions.

Senator Brown recommended that instead of Gunns putting its energy into fixing its claim against the defendants it should fix its "appalling behaviour in the Tasmanian forests".

He said that if the case was meant to stop him and others from fighting for Tasmania's forests and wildlife "they've picked the wrong people".

"I think it's inexcusable that so many good people, many of them patch in the pants, should have been through this ordeal on what is described as an embarrassing document brought by Gunns before the court," he said.

Defendant Adam Burling, from the Huon Valley Environment Centre, said he had been dragged into the case because of his work protecting Tasmania's forests.

"Today's court ruling allows me and many others involved in this case to actually get back to the work, trying to protect these forests that remain open to the chainsaws and bulldozers every day as we speak," he said.

"We find this heartening and very supportive to get this ruling today."