Gaiaguys - and the OTO

Overview:

Gaiaguys is (was) a website run by two people in NSW - Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg. Gaiaguys was a 'whistle-blower site' that reports on government activity, corruption, child abuse etc.
Dyson and Vivienne are part of the 'Disclosure Project' and part of their website dealt with aliens and UFOs. They also posted some anti-Christian material. We do not support all that they wrote about a range of subjects on their site. In this report we are concerned about the implementation and impact of Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

The Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) made a complaint against Gaiaguys under Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act in February 2005, claiming that Gaiaguys had vilified them by posting material about the OTO which they said was vilifying and would incite hatred etc.

The first article Gaiaguys posted was one written by Dr Reina Michaelson, originally written as a security document and never intended to be posted online. The article was originally posted on a UK website under a pseudonym, but Gaiaguys listed it with Reina's real name. The article described ritual abuse and mentioned the name of the OTO.
Gaiaguys subsequently posted a lot of material about the OTO.

The OTO made a complaint against Dr Michaelson, which was resolved in November 2006. For details on that case, click here.

The OTO also made a complaint against Gaiaguys and took the complaint to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Gaiaguys did not participate in mediation or attend the hearing.... and refused to obey the ruling of the Tribunal to remove the material from the website.

The following report analyses the subsequent result.... links to the decisions are given...

As at February 2008 Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg are both in prison in Victoria for NINE months for 'contempt of court'. An appeal hearing is scheduled at VCAT on 28 February 2008.
Barney Zwartz from The Age had an article in the paper on 21 Feb 2008.
Couple jailed for contempt in vilification case
The Age, Barney Zwartz, February 21, 2008
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Salt Shakers Report - sent by email

21 February 2008 - Report

Off to jail - under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act!

Can a person be sent to prison under Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act?

No, I hear you say. . .
Those who are brought before the Equal Opportunity Commission and then the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal might be asked to apologise, to say 'sorry' or be told not to do the same thing again.
But prison?

Well - Two people are currently in prison in Victoria for NINE months for not obeying the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal's ruling on a religious vilification case...
This is technically for 'contempt of court' - because they did not OBEY the Tribunal's ruling....

They also chose not to appear before the Tribunal when the initial case was heard.

VCAT is listed to hear an appeal by the two people on 28 Feb 2008. [More details below under 'Now to the current case..']

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Catch the Fire case

Pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot were initially ordered by Judge Michael Higgins to take out advertisements in newspapers acknowledging that the Tribunal had found they had breached the law (in other words that they were 'guilty'!) and not to say or do the same or similar things ever again...

The two pastors then appealed to the Court of Appeal and the decision was overturned. When it went back to VCAT the two pastors and Catch the Fire Ministries came to a mediated settlement with the Islamic Council of Victoria and the complaint was withdrawn. Click here for mediation statement.

BUT what if a charge had been laid under Part 4 - 'Serious Vilification Offences' of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act?

If found guilty, they could have been sent to prison.

What if Danny and Daniel had not appealed to the Court of Appeal?
(Or decided they could not afford the cost - over $300,000)
Let us suppose that the two pastors had refused to take out those advertisements or place the notice on their website...
The Islamic Council could then have taken the case back to VCAT - and claimed the pastors were in 'contempt of court' for not obeying the ruling.

THEN the Tribunal could have sent them to prison for 'contempt of court' for not obeying the Tribunal.

Now to the current case
Ordo Templi Orientis and Gaiaguys

Do you remember Dr Reina Michaelson's case?
The Ordo Templi Orientis took a case of 'religious vilification' against her for an article she wrote about ritual abuse where she mentioned the name of their organisation.
Her case was settled after a 5-day Tribunal hearing in December 2006.

The website that posted her article and put her real name on it - was 'Gaiaguys', run by Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg.
[Gaiaguys claim to be a whistle blower site - we do not support all statements made by them. In fact they talked of aliens and UFOs and had anti-Christian comment on parts of their website.]

The OTO also lodged a complaint against Gaiaguys and Devine/Legg.
When the case initially went to VCAT in 2006, Gaiaguys wrote to VCAT asking what jurisdiction or authority VCAT had over a person living in NSW.
VCAT responded that that is something the Tribunal could consider when the case itself was being heard.
The case was listed for hearing on 28 May 2007.
Gaiaguys did not attend the hearing.

The decision was handed down on 27 July 2007.
Deputy President Anne Coghlan found they had breached the RRTA and ordered them to remove the offending material from their website and not make similar statements again.

Gaiaguys did not remove the material
The OTO then went back to the Tribunal, on the basis that the Gaiaguys were 'in contempt' of the Tribunal for not removing the material from their website.
The Tribunal issued a warrant for their arrest on 3rd October and they were brought to Melbourne for a hearing on 27 November 2007.
The OTO media release says that FOUR police were sent from Victoria to NSW to bring them to Victoria!

Question: Who is paying for all this? Answer: You and I!

Devine and Legg were asked if they would remove the material and they declined.
They were ordered to attend VCAT the following day - they did not appear.
The Tribunal Member, Judge Harbison, found them guilty of contempt and ordered them to serve NINE MONTHS in prison (she had the power to sentence them to up to FIVE YEARS!)
She noted they had the ability to 'purge their contempt' (apologising or complying with the Tribunal's ruling.)
Click here for VCAT decision from 28 November 2007.

During January Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg were arrested in NSW and brought to Melbourne and put in prison.
They both remain in prison but have both been moved to country medium security prisons.

The hearing next week will determine what happens to them. They could apologise or seek to appeal to the Supreme Court - or stay in prison!

As we said above, we do not support all the statements made by Gaiaguys - or their decision not to attend the Tribunal.

But the question remains - what is the jurisdiction of VCAT?
If it stretches to NSW, does it stretch overseas as well?

AND back to the original question....

Can a person be sent to jail for not complying with the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act?

The answer is YES.

We still believe the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act is unnecessary and divisive and should be repealed.
Robust debate on a wide range of issues is needed now more than ever.