Greenpeace busted for cleaning Canberra's filthy streets?

Top work Greenpeace. I hope their new verb use sticks as well. (Sorry to the other Kevs out there.)

There’s no damage. Should the authorities arrest someone – eg God – every time it rains?

Maybe these protestors should have been arrested under water conservation laws.

Wouldn’t this mean that the guys who stencil numbers on driveways, usually the gutter bit, are committing an offence? Was Steve Pratt fined after the infamous grafitti clean up?

Maybe it was heritage listed dirt

I love this idea. One viral video coming up…

And if the worst that comes from it is the government needs to turn around and actually clean the building, then great outcome all around.

Skid, I think the test on “interfering” would be as to degrading its function or contributing to accelerated deterioration. Hard to argue that cleaning would do either (even if it is only selective cleaning).

I think their only mistake was going too close to APH. I would have found out where various ALP people live/stay when in town and done all the footpaths around those areas. There’s plenty enough places need cleaning in Canberra…(People seem to think that just because something is raw concrete it means it never needs maintenance – bull.)

This is just the political version of drawing “wash me” in the dust on someone’s Camry.

Depends.
Roads and Public Places Act 1937
Section 7: Damage to or interference with public places and property on them

Any person who—
(a) wilfully or negligently damages or suffers or causes damage to be done to; or
(b) without the written permission of the Minister or a roads and public places officer (proof of which lies on the person accused), interferes with;
any public place or any kerbstone, watertable, gutter, footpath or other work on it or any fence, post, lamp, lamp post, structure or other property of the Territory in any public place, commits an offence.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or both.

Penalties:
The value of a penalty unit for an offence at the republication date is—
(a) if the person charged is an individual—$100; or
(b) if the person charged is a corporation—$500.

If the layer of accreted scum on a kerbstone is considered part of that kerbstone, or contributes to its material appearance, you’re damaging it (part a).
By cleaning it, you’d be interfering with it (part b).

So pay up, bitches.