Mall sale of paper may be banned

The Mercury 26 November 2001
By Alison Ribbon

A green newspaper could be banned from sale in Hobart’s Elizabeth Mall after a council meeting tonight.

The future of the non-profit paper Green Left Weekly will be voted on at the meeting.

The move to ban the paper’s sale follows a public complaint earlier this year.

Green Left spokesman (sic) Alex Bainbridge said the paper had been sold in the mall for more than 10 years without intervention by the council.

“There is a by-law saying we can’t distribute them without a permit,” he said.

“But we have been doing it without a permit since February 1991, acting on the assumption we don’t need permission for free speech.”

Lord Mayor Rob Valentine said a complaint in February had prompted the council to put forward a motion refusing requests to sell newspapers in the mall.

Green Left Weekly volunteers applied for a permit in July.

“The council has said over and over they are not trying to victimise Green Left but the motion has the intention of denying a permit to us,” Mr Bainbridge said.

“Council hasn’t given us any reason why there is a problem.

“In the more than 10 years we have been doing this, the complaint in February is the only one they have mentioned.”

Green Left Weekly is written by volunteer journalists and campaigners and is sold nationally.

“All over the country it is distributed on the streets, in cities, universities, pubs,” Mr Bainbridge said.

“It is the most successful progressive newspaper in Australia and we have maintained our right to distribute it.”

Alderman Valentine said granting a permit could set an unwanted precedent.

“Council is trying to keep the mall a space where people aren’t bothered by people trying to sell them things,” he said.

“If we say yes to newspapers, then where do we draw the line?

“People might come to us wanting to sell Tupperware.”

He said the paper could still be sold in other parts of the city.

Paper sellers defiant on ban

The Mercury 27 November 2001

Distributors of the radical newspaper Green Left Weekly will defy a Hobart City Council decision to ban them from the Elizabeth Mall.

Despite last night’s council ruling to outlaw the sale of any commercial products other than flowers in the mall, supporters of the publication have vowed to return.

Six supporters left the council meeting wearing gags emblazoned with the word “censored” after the vote was taken to ban the newspaper.

Spokesman (sic) Alex Bainbridge said the decision was a violation of free speech and was blatantly unfair.

The council’s hard line on the paper was sparked by a formal complaint from a member of the public claiming to have been bailed up by a newspaper seller.

And last night Alderman Eva Ruzicka accused Green Left Weekly sellers of harassing people patronising outdoor coffee shops in the mall.

“This is not a matter of free speech, it’s a matter of selfishness,” she said.

“The mall is an area for our peace and enjoyment.”

Adl Patsy Jones said some buskers were more intrusive than newspapers sellers and she asked that the paper sellers be allowed to continue.

But Ald John Freeman questioned whether sympathetic aldermen would back the distribution of a League of Rights publication in the mall.

“This is an appalling attempt at political correctness,” he said.

“We are allowed to regulate our own property as we see fit.”

Ald Darlene Haigh said the mall was a place for people not hawkers.

She said there were at least eight other sites in the city, including Salamanca Market, where the paper could be sold.

Defiant mall stand … on principles

The Mercury 28 November 2001
By John Briggs

A defiant two dozen sold and distributed the radical newspaper Green Left Weekly in Hobart’s Elizabeth Mall yesterday and went unmolested by Hobart City Council officials or police.

After council’s Monday night reinforcement of its by-law prohibiting the sale of anything in the mall, Green Left Weekly supporters pledged to be out in force yesterday and were true to their word.

They say it is an issue of free speech. The council says it’s about keeping the mall an area for peace and enjoyment.

Battle lines have been drawn and the issue is unlikely to go away.

Green Left Weekly spokesman (sic) Alex Bainbridge said his group intended to defy the order by distributing the newspaper around the mall, as it had done for about a decade.

“We have been overwhelmed by support today from some unlikely sources – even quite conservative people have endorsed our right to be here,” Mr Bainbridge said.

There was a definite air of Voltaire in the mall. As many passers-by signed a petition they said they may not agree with the paper sellers’ views but would defend their right to sell it in the mall.

One middle aged woman said she did not concur with any articles in the newspaper but defended the principle of free speech and the right to sell the publication.

Mr Bainbridge also laughed off the council argument that there eight or nine other places in the city where it was legal to distribute the paper.

“That’s like saying you can have free speech on every day but Thursday,” Mr Bainbridge said.

Deputy Lord Mayor Pru Bonham conceded the issue could balloon into something bigger but was adamant it had nothing to do with free speech.

“I buy and read Green Left Weekly quite regularly and agree with many of its arguments, but there are very good reasons for enforcing the by-law,” Ald Bonham said.

The action was taken after a formal complaint from a member of the public claiming to have been bailed up by a paper seller.

But Mr Bainbridge said his sellers went out of their way not to harass people and offered the paper for sale in a passive way.

“You would think we had progressed from the days of banning books or films on the complaint of one person,” he said.

The group spent about two hours in the mall yesterday without council or police intervention.

The nearest thing to a council presence was an HCC workman (sic) who signed the petition, laughing and hoping he would not be sacked.

Ald Bonham said she hoped common sense would prevail and the supporters of Green Left Weekly would sell the paper elsewhere.

If the stand off continues, council employees can attempt to move them on or call police to arrest offenders.

Mall activity review raised

The Mercury 29 November 2001

A review of activities in Hobart’s Elizabeth Mall has been proposed by Lord Mayor Rob Valentine.

In the wake of this week’s row over selling the Green Left Weekly in the mall, Ald Valentine wants the council’s Policy and Inter-Government Committee to consider a proposal for public consultation on appropriate activities.

Lawman ignores ban

The Mercury 5 December 2001

It looked like the moment of truth for sellers of Green Left Weekly in Hobart’s Elizabeth Mall yesterday.

As a police officer moved towards him, paper seller Rohan Gaiswinkler wondered if was about to enforce the Hobart City Council’s ban on the paper being sold in the mall.

However, all the officer wanted was a copy of Green Left Weekly – and Rohan gladly obliged.

The Hobart City Council denied yesterday that it had moved to enforce its ban specific to newspaper distribution in the mall, which was passed on November 26.

However, council general manager Brent Armstrong reiterated the distributors did not have the permit required to trade in the mall.

But, he said, the council was just “monitoring the situation at the moment, and we’ll take the appropriate action as required”.

Green Left Weekly spokesperson Kamal[a] Emanuel said it had applied for a permit three times since receiving the first warning early this year.

“The council hasn’t given us a clear reason as to why they’ve not giv[en] us a permit,” she said.

She argued that the paper was not a commercial venture, did not include commercial advertising and therefore selling it did not constitute trading in the mall.

Ms Emanuel said it was a free-speech issue, and a petition was circulating to gauge community support.

Festive spirit call for Greens

The Mercury 17 December 2001
By John Briggs

Hobart City Alderman Jeff Briscoe has called on his fellow aldermen to show some Christmas spirit and allow supporters of Green Left Weekly to sell the newspaper in Hobart's Elizabeth Mall.

Ald Briscoe, who voted against the recent decision to ban the group from selling or distributing the newspaper in the mall, will raise the issue again today at the full council meeting.

"The motion would give Green Left Weekly a temporary permit with strict conditions until the policies to do with the mall are reviewed," Ald Briscoe said.

"The council has issued similar temporary permits in the past.

"For example, the council often has given similar temporary permits to do with illegal signs in the city."

Alderman Briscoe said it was a good time for other aldermen to show a generosity of spirit appropriate to the season.

"I believe denying Green Left Weekly an opportunity to distribute its newspaper is very un-Australian," Ald Briscoe said.

"It should be remembered that our own council officers originally recommended granting of a permit - only the aldermen insisted that such a permit could not be granted.

"These young people have been selling the newspaper for nearly 10 years with only only one recent complaint - every other capital city allows distribution of the paper in their malls."

No attempts have been made so far to arrest sellers of the radical newspaper but Ald Briscoe said they could receive a summons under the present council by-laws.

Lord Mayor Rob Valentine declined to speak about how he, or other aldermen, would vote today.

Ald Valentine, who has stressed that the issue is not about free speech but the upholding of council policy, said it would be inappropriate to comment before the meeting.

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