Former Greens leader Bob Brown has been found guilty of trespassing during an anti-logging protest and a magistrate said he was an argumentative witness in court.

Brown and two other activists were arrested at Snow Hill in Tasmania on November 8, 2022 as part of a campaign to protect habitat of the critically endangered swift parrot.

The trio, who all fought separate charges of trespassing, were today found guilty in Hobart Magistrates Court. Brown, who gave evidence during court hearings, had argued logging in the area was unlawful.

Magistrate Jackie Hartnett said Brown had requested a map of forestry activities from the appropriate bodies, but they didn’t provide one.

“I found [Brown] to be not an overly impressive witness – argumentative and not willing to make reasonable concessions,” she said in a written judgment. “[However] I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities [Brown] believed, albeit mistakenly, the area he entered was outside the logging coupe.”

Brown was approached by two police officers and a worker from forestry company Sustainable Timber Tasmania who told him it was a coupe and asked him to leave.

Harnett ruled Brown did not have a lawful excuse for staying there.

She found the veteran environmentalist and former senator intended to be obstructive, and his presence meant it was “inconceivable” forestry work could continue as normal.

Brown, as well as other activists Kristy Lee Alger and Karen Lynne Weldrick, are expected to be sentenced on August 14.

“We’ve been found guilty of breaching Tasmanian laws which expect the public to get out of the way while forestry destroys rare and endangered species,” Brown said. “I will be appealing – I will appeal to the Australian public for more peaceful protests where governments under the impress of big corporations won’t make that stand.”

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The trio’s lawyer Julian Murphy said Brown’s crime did not warrant the recording of a conviction because the case was slightly unusual.

He noted Brown was “sitting” on a log, not locked to machinery and had a genuine concern about the lawfulness of the logging. Alger and Weldrick had locked themselves onto machinery and refused to leave when asked.

Brown also said his foundation would pursue legal action against Sustainable Timber Tasmania for “cutting down a swift parrot nesting tree” after the protest in breach of the company’s guidelines.

AAP