Opera House war protesters get weekend jail

Two men who painted an anti-war slogan on the Sydney Opera House last year have been sentenced to nine months periodic detention.

David Burgess, 33, and Will Saunders, 42, were convicted of a charge of malicious damage relating to the painting of the words ‘No War’ on the landmark building in March last year.

In handing down the sentence, New South Wales District Court Justice Anthony Blackmore described the offence as serious because of the damage done to the Opera House.

He said there was a need for a general deterrent to discourage others from damaging public buildings.

Outside the court, defence lawyer John Doris said there would be an appeal against the convictions and the sentences.

“Essentially we say there was a right in their case for the jury to hear and make their own judgement about whether the provision of law of self defence in this state applies or didn’t apply,” he said.

“(It’s a) matter for the jury, not a matter for the judge.”

I know what you’re thinking. “Now he is going to go off on a rant about how fascist and heavy-handed such a sentence is, because the protesters were correct in their views.” Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. These people vandalised public property, were arrested, fined the clean-up fee, and sentenced to periodic detention in order to dissuade similar acts in the future. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. A crime is a crime is a crime, and justice should always be blind to subjective feelings of justification behind it. If a pair of men climbed the Opera House and painted an enormous red swastika on it because they fervently advocated white supremacy, what’s the intrinsic difference?

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