Rob Write Again!

Rob Fyffe has had another Letter to the Editor published in the NT News.

To read it click here

NAPNT Media release uploaded

NAPNT's media release in response to John Howard's announcement onthe Coalition's plans to quarantine welfare payments of drug users has been uploaded to NAP's Media Releases page.

To read the media release: Johnny's brave new world, click here

Rob Fyffe's challenge to pollies

Napatista, Rob Fyffe's latest Letter to the Editor, published in the NT News on Mon 8 October, 2007 has been uploaded to NAPNT's Published Letters page.

To read it click here

or go to : http://www.napnt.org/2007/08/drug-mix-fuels-more-violence.html

Rob had his day in court

NAPNT's Rob Fyffe had an ethical victory in Darwin Magistrates Court on Tues, 4 September.

Rob had been given a $180 Infringement Notice (plus $30 v.o.c. levee) when the misinformed Drug Squad raided the NAP house in Oct 2006 and found that instead of kilos of speed and a backyard meth-lab, Rob’s 0.5g of pot was the only illicit substance on the premises.

Rob refused to simply pay the fine, the “official bribe” as he put it, and chose to have the matter heard in court.

Although he pleaded “Not Guilty”, Rob held no expectation for the magistrate to ignore the obvious evidence of his possession of the illicit vegetable matter, but as he explained in court he couldn’t plead guilty as he said "I don't feel guilty", and "to plead guilty would require me to lie"

“I cannot plead guilty to being in possession of a dangerous substance, as marijuana is described in the the criminal act, as, having smoked it for 30 years, I know it’s NOT a dangerous substance.” he said. "So to plead guilty would require me to lie".

Magistrate Vince Luppino said he understood Mr Fyffe’s ethical dilemma, and the confusing semantics, but he had still broken the law.

Robert was fined $240 with no conviction recorded.

Rob gives Clare 'Wake-up Call"

Rob Fyffe has had another letter published in the NT News, Letters to the Editor, his fourth in 6 months! But this is the first letter they have included "Network Against Prohibition" after his name at the end of the letter.

The local media appear to acknowledge NAP as the leading NT experts on drug-use - ABC radio rang us for comment on Bronwyn Bishop's call to create another "Stolen Generation", this time the parent's drug use, not their skin colour, will see families torn apart forever if Ms Bishop gets her way, and now the NT News have published Rob's letter, including his association with NAP, which contains some views on the drug industry that will most likely not have occurred to the moral minority, but are widely shared by more open-minded, logical Territorians, who are capable of thinking for themselves.

Rob's letter, titled "Progession (sic) for sake of children" begins...

WELL, the stage has been set. Little Johnnie's off on a crusade with Mal as his first Lieutenant to save the Aboriginal kids from being thrown overboard by their people.

To read the complete published letter to the editor click here

ABC Radio interview

Following Bronwyn Bishop's announcement of her intention to introduce a new policy in her Family and Community Services portfolio.

ABC Radio Darwin ran the story on their afternoon"Drive" program and called upon The Network Against Prohibition to comment.

Taking the call and representing NAP, was Fiona Clarke.

Fi-
How do I feel about Bronwyn Bishop’s proposal to have children of drug addicted parents taken from them and permanently adopted out?

Firstly I believe Bronwyn is playing election games, more “Children Overboard”. I also doubt that it’s ethical for the Chairperson of an ongoing inquiry to make comments based on information given to that inquiry, before they have released any findings.

I struggled with drug problems for many years, and my 3 children are all successful, stable young adults of 17, 25 and 28. When I told my eldest girl about Ms. Bishop’s proposal she was horrified.

“But, that’s stupid. We were never taken from you, now I’m 28 and have a highly paid job in the medical field. Who knows what would have happened to me if I’d been taken from my family – and look at you mum, you came from a perfect, normal family yet you got messed up by drugs.”

I agree. If anything, such a proposal is likely to cause more harm than it prevents. I know that parents with addiction problems can find it difficult to care properly for their children all the time, but if they think they might lose their kids forever they’ll be too scared to ask for help or respite. The problem will be driven underground.

One option is to involve the whole family in treatment programs. Parenting skills could be taught, the children could be realistically educated about drugs so instead of separating the family they can be taught how to live.

Changes to napnt.org

Regular visitors to NAP’s website will notice some changes. Rob F has managed to teach himself html and is going through up-dating information and contact numbers. It is a very big job, so please bear with us if it is not happening fast enough for you.

NAP in the Media uploaded

Bushranger, the back page columnist in the Sunday Territorian published a piece on our very own Rob Fyffe.

The column tilted" Legal lessons" from the Sunday Territorian, Sun 6 May 2007 has been uplodaed to NAPNT's NAP in the media blog.

To read what Bushie had to say about Rob click here

or go to: http://www.napnt.org/2007/05/legal-lessons.html

Inders Incarcerated - A True Story

A month in Darwin's Berrimah jail, from March 12 to April 8, sheeted home several undemocratic truths to former print journalist ROB INDER-SMITH.

The sight of the exit gate to freedom came as my head was giddy with mixed
emotions.

The triumph of a plan unhatched and about to be fulfilled swirled with the
rage just conjured up by Officer Move Out!, who could not let me pass
through "Checkpoint Charlie" without one final act of bastardry.

Here I was, a 28-day political prisoner, about to turn my back on his
workstation, Berrimah Correctional Centre, and he had just confiscated more
of my papers.

"I'm keeping these," he said, as he clutched a fist-full of documents I
immediately recognised. Included were shopping and to-do lists, for this
very day, plus letters already processed and vetted by Officer Ten Gallon,
the prison censor. They'd accompanied me safely from the "mainstream"
M-Block to my one-man B-block bunker, aka solitary, where I spent my second
fortnight, so why was Move Out! taking them from me now?

We both knew that this final confiscation was unjustifiable and I was
livid.

At the same time, I was almost jubilant with relief at seeing that what
was not in his grubby outstretched hand, were my unravelled shorthand notes
the ones I was attempting to smuggle out and which seemed at this late
stage, just seconds after my sixth and final strip-search in the penultimate
mantrap, to be as yet undiscovered and on their way with me out the gate.
Move Out! and his band of uniformed rubber glove-wearing screws aka
prison officers, but something entirely different in prisoner parlance
were demonstrating that even as a prisoner is all but free once more, it is
they who are ultimately unaccountable.

"You can't do this!" I said, outraged with indignation, yet thankful my
booty seemed to have slipped through under their noses, and just to be sure,
I dug into the plastic bag just handed back to me. My relief instantly
became joy the object containing my precious notes was safe and sound.

Then, with one last, albeit not entirely full-blooded protestation,
"that's my intellectual property", Berrimah's henchmen frogmarched me to my
freedom.

Getting the notes out had been a case of second-time lucky. Soon after my
arrival, while still in an M-Block dormitory cell, I had tried to smuggle
out letters and news stories with a prisoner due for release in a few days,
who happened to be a neighbour of a mate, Stuart Highway, one of Australia's
best-known political and human rights activists.

Also included in the soon-to-be-deemed contraband, was a letter from
Annum, an Indonesian fisherman, who saw our "arrangement" as a last resort.

Over the previous 12 months, he had written at least three times to Highway,
with all his letters returned by screws who told him, "You cannot write to
this person because he is a political activist and trouble-maker."

As well, he was told he was not allowed to telephone Stuart, so when he
got wind of the arrangement, he leapt at the idea.
But as often happens, the plan came awry. Screws frisked Parny the way they did me and our letters sealed in envelopes addressed to the

Ombudsman, which should have rendered them untouchable were opened and never made it outside the prison walls. As punishment for our audacity,

Annum and I ended up behind those in "Sepcon" separate confinement.

Perhaps the most ominous "parting shot" was delivered by the screw
escorting me out the gate.

"You activists get what you deserve," he said.

Coming from a man I never even knew, the words left me dumbstruck.
And I realise that they were not just meant for me.

? The author was convicted of “Intentionally disrupting the (NT) Legislative Assembly while it (was) in session, in February 2002”.

Robert Inder-Smith
Network Against Prohibition (NAP)

Inders is out

Rob Inder-Smith was released from Berrimah Prison on Sunday, 8 April 2007.

We will bring you an update on what occurred while he was incarcerated as soon as Rob gets it together to write it down.

Latest outrage in Berrimah Prison

My visit to Rob Inder-Smith in Berrimah Prison today was even more restricted than being made to sit at table 10 last time.

Rob had been moved to B Block to do a week in solitary confinement.

His crime? He wrote five letters to the NT Ombudsman, sealed them in envelopes addressed to the Ombudsman.

Prisoners’ letters to the Ombudsman are not to be opened or read by the prison censors. This is law.

It seems Berrimah screws don’t follow their own rules. They opened and read Rob’s letters to the Ombudsman – an act which is illegal.

Assumedly, Rob informed the Ombudsman of something he wasn’t happy about, as his right, but the nosey screws, instead of doing their job of taking care of the inmates by simply posting the letters, read them, kept his correspondence and punished him for daring to exercise his rights.

They stuck him in solitary for a week, cut off his phone calls, reduced his previously 2 times 1 hour contact visits weekly to 1 half hour non-contact visit (behind glass via phone).

Anyone concerned at this blatant and illegal abuse of power is urged to ring, write or email the NT Ombudsman voicing their concerns at this example of illegal activities by Berrimah’s prison guards.

Ombudsman of the Northern Territory
GPO Box 1344
Darwin, NT, 0801
Phone: (08) 8999 1818
Freecall: 1800 806 380
Fax: (08) 8999 1828
Email: nt.ombudsman@nt.gov.au

Inders in Berrimah

Rob Inder-Smith was all smiles today when Karen, John, Jurgen and Fi braved the fascist fortress that is Berrimah Prison to visit him on his sixth day of incarceration.

Dressed in the mandatory green t-shirt, shorts and too-small, plastic sandals, Rob was obviously very pleased to see some familiar, friendly faces.

He stood up to greet us and we went to sit at an empty table.

“You have to sit at table 10!” one of the prison guards barked before we’d taken two steps.

Seems that since our last visit – when Stuart Highway was there in early 2006 – a new rule's been introduced.

Our prison visitor ID badges were marked with a designated table number, as was the prisoner’s (Rob) similar ID tag.

Ours all had “10” so at table 10 we had to sit.

This “just happened” to be the table closest to the guards, right under their noses. When we saw Stui we could sit where we wanted – this time we sat where they wanted, and it appeared they wanted us within ear-shot.

Inders was in good spirits. He was impressed with the inmates' tolerance of the degrading treatment they received in such miserable surroundings.

“They have guitars and were singing and playing, they’re amazing really, it’s bloody awful in here.” Rob said.

“I’ve only got to be here a month but these guys will be in here for four or five years! I haven’t met anyone who’s got to be here for a really long time like 10 years or more but even four years in this hell?” he shook his head in wonder.

Rob was sentenced to a six month prison term, suspended after serving one month, after Justice Southwood agreed that the original sentence was too harsh and upheld Rob's appeal, reducing his sentence.

Spare a thought for Rob, stuck in Berrimah for exercising his right to protest but also spare a thought for all the other victims of the war on drugs/human rights who are languishing in prisons everywhere.

Transcript of NAPNT sentencing appeal

To read the transcript of the Parliament Action Sentencing Appeal click here:

or go to:
http://www.nt.gov.au/ntsc/doc/judgements/2007/ntsc/20070226ntsc11.html

Inder's last post

On Monday, 12 March 2007 Rob Inder-Smith will hand himself in to begin his one month's incarceration for his part in the parliament walk-in.

His final thoughts before he descends into the bowels of Berrimah prison have been uploaded to his blog to read what he has to say click here

Rob Fyffe published again!

Persecution of drug users

REGARDING the story (Northern Territory News, March 1) “Mum desperate for sniffer son help”.

This is a prime example of the inadequacy of the NT Health Department, and the “service” it provides.

To read the complete letter to the editor by Rob Fyffe click here

Stuart Highway on parliament and drugs

The handing down of his decision on the Parliament case sentence by ‘Justice’ Steve Southwood at the Supreme Court on Monday, 26 February 2007, was in a way the culmination of almost 5 years’ work and struggle by Darwin-based community organisation Network Against Prohibition, or NAP.

To read more of what Stuart Highway has to say about NAP 2002 - 2007 and why they took on the NT Government click here

Rob Fyffe on NT News propaganda

Drug price questionable

REGARDING the front page story of Northern Territory News March 1: “Police seize $3 million cannabis haul”.

To read Rob's letter published in the NT News click here

Parliament activists media alert uploaded

The latest media release about NAP's parliament activists has been uploaded here

Parliament appeal decision

Great news! Stuart Highway has been given a 6 month sentence FULLY SUSPENDED!!!

Rob has been given an 8 month sentence suspended after 1 month but still much better than the original jail sentence.

Ema was given a $500 good behaviour bond.

See ABC news tonight, Mon 26 Feb, 2007. for an interview with Stuart.

Thanx to everyone for their support.

Still no decision

Justice Southwood has again called an adjournment to the sentencing appeal.

He seems to be having some difficulty coming to a decision, so come along on Monday and help him decide not to further overcrowd Berrimah and let the Parliamentry Protestors go free.

The case reconvenes on Monday, 26 Feb at 9am in Darwin's Supreme Court.

Parliament appeal update

There is still no resolution to the appeal currently in the NT Supreme Court.

On Monday 19 Feb 2007, Justice Southwood again called an adjournment to consider his decision.

He told the defendants that if they were to issue some form of apology to parliament for disturbing them, he would take a more lenient approach.

Court reconvenes on Friday 23 Feb.

Sentencing Appeal Update

The final defendants in NAP's "parliament invasion" case will know next week if they are going to jail.

To read the latest Media Alert about the court-case click here.

Media Alert Uploaded: Protesters to face court

A media alert about the last of NAP's 'Parliament Protestors' has been uploaded to NAP's Media Alerts.

To view it click here