An update from the Thompsons down under

For all the supporters of the Thompsons, Janet writes to describe the kind of limbo they are living in. The eviction day October 15, came and went in a blur of work. They remain on the property only due to court injunctions, which have no certainty. Matt and Janet are their own lawyers — doing all the paperwork — with helpful advice from all round, especially Peter King. Legal suits were launched from both sides. The Thompsons are basically under siege, living week to week in their home, waiting, though not sitting still. They can’t farm, so creating political pressure and fighting in the courts are their only options.

It’s an all or nothing game — they have to raise public support: 1/because it’s the best way to pressure the government (by shaming them), and if they could get an effective bankable license the situation might be transformed. 2/ Because for the bigger picture, it seems that hardly anyone is gathering the farmers, fishermen, landholders, and producers. Janet and Matt are a magnetic node in a embryonic movement that is desperately needed here. And 3/ Where is The West Australian?

The Thompsons business went from thriving to dying because the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) changed their license conditions for political reasons, partly it seems because the Thompsons spoke out against the theory of man-made global warming. The cause of their plight is purely political, not business-related. Therefore the solution, if any, has to be a political one.

To give an idea of just how political this is, who should turn up at the last two hearings between a bank a business? None other than Paul Byrnes from the DEC. Why are taxpayer dollars being used to “watch” legal proceedings between two private groups? DEC are spooked, and so they ought to be. Their lack of professionalism, tyrannical power, and misuse of taxpayer funds is being exposed.

Guest post from Janet Thompson

We are still on our property, living behind locked gates, not ever leaving our property unattended, for fear that the receivers will move in, take equipment and change the locks while we are gone.

On 17 September, the National Australia Bank (NAB) gave us 4 days to pay them back. Before the 4 days were up, NAB appointed Ferrier Hodgson as receivers and managers (R&M) of our company, Narrogin Beef Producers (NBP). NBP is wholly owned by us…it’s part of our family trust.

We do not deny the fact that we owe the bank money, nor do we deny that we have defaulted under our loan agreement. But the R&M have claimed ownership of our case against the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). We believe that in order to fully realize the value of our property, and to pay back ALL creditors…not just NAB…we need to pursue this case against DEC with all our might. Therefore, we are asking that the R&M join with us in our case, as opposed to quickly liquidating assets so as to only partially repay the NAB (and collecting their own substantial fees).

Because we were willing to go public with our story, and because of the amazing amount of support we received when Joanne Nova, Anthony Watts, and many other good people put our story up, we have received: donations of money to our children, to help put a roof over our heads when we are forced to leave our property; donations of time from lawyers and consultants; moral support in the form of phone calls, emails and faxes; offers of sheds and empty houses for a place to live; and the list goes on.

All of these are invaluable to us, and we cannot thank you all enough.

The R&M gave us to October 15 to vacate the premises. Because of pro-bono legal advice, we have so far blocked the attempts to take equipment and property, and have remained on site. On 20 October, we filed suit against DEC in the Federal Court of Australia. We are hopeful that we can make a difference.

At this point in time, all money donated for the children through PayPal is still in Jo Nova’s account. In the mean time, we are living on my part-time wage. Matt and I are working many hours a day on our case (doing our own legal work, with excellent pro-bono support from a number of people, including Barrister Peter King of Sydney), maintaining the property, caring for our children and home, working my job, and attempting to keep people updated online.

(We are also not giving up on core projects that are important to us, like fighting climate change alarmism in its many forms and incarnations. We believe it is that speaking out that brought our family business to such demise, and we do not want to win a personal battle, only to find that a larger and more important battle is lost in the mean time. Here in Australia, the coalition between Labor and the Greens is threatening much of our progress.)

At the moment, at least here in Western Australia: the environmental and animal rights extremists have been so organized, so vocal, and so well-funded for the last 30 years or so, and we producers have been so busy producing, and so trusting of people’s goodness, that politicians are only catering to one end of the spectrum – the extreme left. In order to make the most of our horrendous story, we must carry out a multi-pronged approach:

1. We must push for the courts to rule on the constitutionality of legislation that gives a government department like DEC such untempered and absolute power as they have. (This is part of our application in Federal Court.)
2. We must let our “conservative” politicians know that we are going to be more angry if they do not act on shoring up property rights, than the other side will be if they do.
3. And to support both of these agendas, we MUST, somehow, get publicity and public support. Last Monday’s demonstration was a classy and respectful way of doing this, and it was wildly successful, judging by the mainstream media coverage we received. Why must we carry out stunts to get attention? I do not know, but I know that the dark greens are only too willing to do so, and they control our legislative process at the moment.

(It’s a shoe-string operation: I spent $84 on supplies for the Funeral for Property Rights on the steps of Parliament House last Monday, and I gave our friend, the bagpipe player, some money for petrol, as he drove up and back (4 ½ hours total) pro-bono because he believed in our cause — but he could not really afford it on his pension. We will eat Ramen noodles for a week to offset these costs, and it is well worth it.)

This is not just about Matt and Janet Thompson or our four young children. This is about fundamental human rights and the defence of those rights. Core to those rights is secure tenure of property.

because tyrants cannot take from us more than they already have, we are liberated. We can now speak freely

We are down, but not out. In fact, because tyrants cannot take from us more than they already have, we are liberated. We can now speak freely. We can now be the face and the voice for the thousands of people who have been adversely affected, but still have too much to lose to speak out publicly.

If anyone is concerned about this direction, please just let us know. But if you support us, please continue to support sites like WUWT, Joanne Nova, and the host of other truth-seeking, independent-minded individuals who are not willing to cower under threats from tyrants.

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The one page describing The Thompsons long saga includes maps, links to many of my posts on the topic and a place to make donations for their children.

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