In 2004, the forestry company Gunns began proceedings against 20 individuals, including Senator Bob Brown and several Wilderness Society staff members, claiming these e nvironmentalists had caused the company a loss of reputation, jobs and profit. The claim was for $6.3 million. This corporate response to community concern is known as a SLAPP suit (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation).
A SYDNEY couple was on the run with their two-day-old baby last night after the Department of Community Services took out a Supreme Court order to have the boy vaccinated against hepatitis B.
The parents, from Croydon Park, fled their home on Thursday to avoid police and DOCS officers after they refused to have their son vaccinated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. They told the Herald yesterday that they believed aluminium in the vaccine could cause him more damage than contracting hepatitis B.
The child’s mother, from China, was diagnosed with hepatitis B several years ago, but both parents believe the illness, which can cause liver cancer and cirrhosis, can be managed more effectively than any potential neurological damage from the vaccine.