VIC: Students lose final appeal over how to shoplift article

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-1998
VIC: Students lose final appeal over how to shoplift article

By Leigh Murray

MELBOURNE, Dec 11 AAP - Four former editors of a student newspaper face up to two years
jail for publishing a guide to shoplifting, after losing an appeal against a censorship ban on
the article.

The High Court today rejected their application to seek leave to appeal against the
judgment of the full Federal Court in March which had upheld the Classification Review Boards
decision to censor the article.

The case arose out of the July 1995 edition of the La Trobe University journal Rabelais
which contained an article on The Art of Shoplifting.

The edition was banned by the chief censor on the grounds it contained instructions on
committing a crime.

One former editor Ben Ross said the article was now available worldwide on the Internet
after the full Federal Court published it on its website after handing down the decision in
March.

"In banning us, the Federal Court made the article available to the entire world - we only
printed a few thousand copies," Mr Ross told reporters outside court.

The four former editors, Ross, Michael Brown, Melita Berndt, and Valentina Srpcanska
(Srpcanska), were charged in January 1996 with three counts each of publishing an
objectionable article.

The charges were put on hold pending their appeal, but are now expected to be heard in the
magistrates court next year, where each will face up to two years jail and a $24,000 fine.

Mr Ross said the High Court decision would make any form of political dissent much more
difficult in Australia.

"The law has been interpreted in such a way that really any kind of meaningful political
dissent now puts you at serious risk of serious criminal charges with jail and massive fines
as a result," he said.

"I dont think we expected that we would be involved in a four-year court battle by
publishing a relatively innocuous article in a student newspaper.

"Its been incredibly time-consuming and stressful and financially draining, and it will be
financially draining for many years to come as a result of this."

Tony Pagone, QC and Wendy Harris argued the case for the editors today, but were rejected
by High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson and Justice William Gummow.

AAP ljm/er/cjh

KEYWORD: RABELAIS

1998 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.