Bruce Mahalski attempted to pay a court fine with a hand-drawn $50 note, protesting his conviction for trespassing at Dunedin Airport. Photo / Tess Brunton, RNZ
Bruce Mahalski attempted to pay a court fine with a hand-drawn $50 note, protesting his conviction for trespassing at Dunedin Airport. Photo / Tess Brunton, RNZ
“This storm in a T-shirt” is how a climate activist who tried to pay a court fine using a hand-drawn $50 note has described being trespassed for wearing a shirt saying “It’s a Climate Emergency”.
Bruce Mahalski was convicted and dischargedin December for trespassing at Dunedin Airport after wearing the shirt and holding a protest sign.
The offender levy is paid by any person or company sentenced in the District or High Court.
But Mahalski objected to paying the fee, saying it implied he committed an antisocial crime when his motives were selfless.
“It is a climate emergency and there’s nothing controversial about that,” Mahalski said.
On Wednesday morning, he arrived at Dunedin District Court with his hand-drawn $50 note, which he created over the weekend, depicting Cabinet minister Shane Jones instead of Ernest Rutherford, a vulture instead of a kōkako and the Beehive instead of a marae.
The note shows Shane Jones, a vulture and the Beehive in place of legal images. Photo / NZME
When court staff questioned what he wanted them to do with it after he presented the note, Mahalski told them they could auction it off and donate the proceeds to victims of violent crimes.
They refused, and another climate activist stepped in to buy the note, covering the fee.
Mahalski said this all started with a collaborative art project where he would go to different places wearing the T-shirt and holding a tiny sign to photograph.
They had been to Christchurch Airport with no issues, but he said it went downhill when he was standing alone, with his sign, as people arrived off the new Jetstar Gold Coast flight at Dunedin Airport last year.
He had gone to the information desk to check he could be there and was told that was okay, but security staff asked him to leave. They had called the police and he had been trespassed when he asked to take photos first, he said.
Another trip to Christchurch Airport had been uneventful, but when he returned to Dunedin Airport, he was trespassed.
The airport was owned by the Government and Dunedin City Council, both of whom had declared a climate emergency, he said.
“This storm in a T-shirt. I just can’t believe we’re standing here talking about it,” Mahalski said.
“It’s just absolutely ridiculous that we’re still talking about this stuff when the Government in 2018 – ‘It’s a climate emergency, we’re going to do something. We’re going to reduce emissions. Here’s an emissions trading scheme, we’re going to put all of these mechanisms in place,’ and suddenly, bang – it’s all gone. Forget about it. Never happened.”
He called out Jones, questioning how he went from telling the House in 2010 that mining would ruin the country and destroy tourism to backing mining.
It was not the first time he had returned an unorthodox offender fee.
“Last time, I took the $50 note for my offender levy into the court in a bag of coal.”
He was inspired by American artist J.S.G. Boggs, who was charged with counterfeiting after hand-drawing banknotes and using them.
The hand-drawn note would now be auctioned off on Trade Me, with half the proceeds going to victims of violent crime and the other half to the climate movement. He hoped it would raise about $1000.
As to whether he would return to Dunedin Airport, he did not plan to but expected other activists would.
