Bob Brown won his original court case to stop Forestry Tasmania logging the magnificent Wielangta forest, but the win was overturned on a technicality by the full bench of the Federal Court after the Howard Government joined forces with the Lennon Government to change the law.

Helen in this post after Brown had won the case and before he subsequently lost on appeal, points out that Gunns is more than happy to use court cases to frighten people into silence. Brown himself thought that Forestry Tasmania were pursuing the debt with unusual vigour and that a whole posse of people were out to get him.

Dr Brown believe Forestry Tasmania, a business 100 per cent owned by the Tasmanian Government, is pursuing the debt more vigorously and hastily than usual in an attempt to force him out of the Senate.

He claims the Bartlett Labor Government in Tasmania, aided by the Rudd Federal Government and the logging industry, is intent on seeing him expelled from the Senate because of his recently-reiterated determination to have all logging banned in Australia’s native forests.

There was some evidence he was right.

Forestry Tasmania corporate relations manager Ken Jeffreys accused Senator Brown of a “media stunt”, saying he had known since January last year the costs would need to be paid.

Several Coalition MPs agreed. but the Ruddster was sympathetic:

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today he was distressed to learn that the Greens leader could be booted out of the Senate over an unpaid legal debt.

Mr Rudd said he was upset for Senator Brown.

“I’ve actually got a lot of time for Bob; just as a person, (he’s) a bloke I’ve got to know over the years,” Mr Rudd told Sky News.

“I’m quite concerned about it for him personally.”

I understand that his public appeal was encouraging enough that Brown felt he could approach his bank manager for a loan. But then along came self-declared capitalist Dick Smith who said he would pay the entire $240,000 bill if necessary.

Smith reckons that Forestry Tasmania are a bunch of bullies and no-one should be drummed out of parliament this way.

Mr Smith said he was not prepared to see an elected parliamentarian turfed from office because of an unpaid bill arising from a case motivated by a “genuine” concern. “Even though I’m a capitalist, I think he does have an important role in parliament,” Mr Smith said.

Amen to that, but something is not right here. Brown should never have been in that position in the first place.

Finally, if you have superannuation there is a fair chance that you have a beneficial interest in Gunn’s. Sadly for most investing institutions ethics is someone else’s department.