In Hardy v State of New South Wales [2021] NSWCA 338 late last month the NSW Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal regarding a supervision order imposed pursuant to the terms of the Terrorism (High Risk Offenders) Act 2017 (NSW). Hardy's conviction was noted here.
The Act provides in s 10 -
(1) In this Act, an eligible offender is a convicted NSW terrorism activity offender if the offender is serving (or is continuing to be supervised or detained under this Act after serving) a sentence of imprisonment for a NSW indictable offence (the offender’s offence) and any of the following apply in respect of the offender: ...
(c) the offender: (i) is making or has previously made any statement (or is carrying out or has previously carried out any activity) advocating support for any terrorist act or violent extremism, or (ii) has or previously had any personal or business association or other affiliation with any person, group of persons or organisation that is or was advocating support for any terrorist act or violent extremism.
(1A) Without limiting subsection (1) (c):
(a) advocating support for a terrorist act or violent extremism includes (but is not limited to) any of the following: (i) making a pledge of loyalty to a person, group of persons or organisation, or an ideology, that supports terrorist acts or violent extremism, (ii) using or displaying images or symbols associated with a person, group of persons or organisation, or an ideology, that supports terrorist acts or violent extremism, (iii) making a threat of violence of a kind that is promoted by a person, group of persons or organisation, or an ideology, that supports terrorist acts or violent extremism, and
(b) an association or other affiliation with a person, group of persons or organisation includes (but is not limited to) any of the following: (i) networking or communicating with the person, group of persons or organisation, (ii) using social media sites or any other websites to communicate with the person, group of persons or organisation.
(2) Subsection (1) (b) and (c) apply regardless of whether or not the eligible offender has been convicted of an offence for the conduct concerned (whether in Australia or elsewhere).
In dismissing the appeal the Court notes
[15] The primary judge inferred, from the circumstances and nature of his first offence committed on 3 March 2017, that the appellant had made a statement advocating support for violent extremism. The offence arose from the delivery of two envelopes to the office of his local member of the Legislative Assembly. On the outside of each envelope the following appeared:
“To The Minister
You in TREASON ... you will be hung untill you are dead
No Mercy, No Prisoners
You are scum”
[16] Inside the envelopes was printed material to the effect that the Commonwealth was a corporation made up of corporations controlled by foreign corporations. The views expressed were consistent with those of the so-called Sovereign Citizen Movement (“SCM”), originally an American group which promotes the view that the government is unlawful and immoral and that individuals are entitled to resist the enforcement of its laws.
[17] In May 2017 the police searched the appellant’s premises and located prohibited weapons, including two torch batons, a number of knives (some ceremonial) an air gun that could be mistaken for a handgun, and a large volume of written material relating to beliefs promoted by the SCM. Other documents found on the premises included material downloaded from the internet involving blueprints for the manufacture of plastic firearms by use of a 3D printer. He had also obtained a 3D printer.
[18] With respect to the hand-delivered letters to the office of the local member, the appellant was charged with sending a document threatening death or grievous bodily harm, being an offence under s 31(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. He was also charged with three offences of possessing a prohibited weapon or an unregistered firearm. He was sentenced in the Local Court to an aggregate sentence of 16 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 12 months, to date from 19 September 2017.
[19] A further search of his premises was conducted on 3 October 2018, at which time a USB was seized which contained hundreds of files, including written materials expressing anti-government sentiments and a large number of files containing digital blueprints for 3D printing and manufacture of both real and replica firearms. On 20 November 2018 he was arrested and charged with 12 offences relating to the digital blueprints. He was eventually sentenced on a plea of guilty for the firearm offences. On 11 December 2020 he received an 18 months intensive correction order, including 350 hours of community service work, which would have commenced on that day. The offending conduct was his possession of 411 digital blueprints from which 12 different firearms could be produced on a 3D printer.
