Day 4 - Donna

It was a long, hard day - including a two and a half hour presentation by Byran! As well as presentations by Adele and Donna. We all put our arguments against Public Interest Immunity as best we could, assuring the court our line of questioning would not threaten national security as had been suggested by the Prosecution.

Hope to make some more personal observations, but in the meantime here is a brief summary....we are looking forward to our action at Pine Gap tomorrow

love Donna

ALICE IN WONDERLAND?

The trial of the Pine Gap 4 took an odd turn today before Justice Sally Thomas the Northern Territory Supreme Court with references to Martin Luther King, Nazi Germany and Alice in Wonderland.

Bryan Law, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie and Donna Mulhearn are charged under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952 after doing a "Citizen's Inspection" of Pine Gap military spy base in December 2005.

Responding to a comment that the proceeding had become "like Alice in Wonderland", Jim Dowling said of Crown QC Mr Michael Maurice "I think the only thing left is for him to jump up and call 'Orf with their heads!'"

Extensive legal argument was conducted in the absence of the jury regarding public interest immunity. Mr Maurice made concerted attempts to attack not only the public's right to basic information but also the validity of civil disobedience as a tool for social change. He suggested at one stage that the appropriate response would have been to write letters to newspapers rather than enter Pine Gap. Donna Mulhearn responded by citing her experiences in Baghdad as a catalyst for the Citizens Inspection.

"If writing a letter to the editor is a reasonable response to images of children ripped apart, to the smell of human flesh, to the mourning cries of mothers in the marketplace then we have all failed," said Ms Mulhearn.

"I want to ask why members of the US Congress are regularly given tours of this facility when Australian Members of Parliament are not even given access to information [about the base]."

Mr Maurice went on to say that on a personal level he was sympathetic with the position the Pine Gap 4 have taken.

"Their position is a decent one," said Mr Maurice, "but that's not the point."

The trial will continue on Monday June 4 at 10am. The jury are expected to return after lunch at 2pm.