The term majoritarian is used here to describe the attitude to electoral democracy associated with the concept of electoral mandate. The current federal government has used the rhetorical concept of mandate to attempt to invalidate public opposition to its legislative program. Such a view of democracy can be described as majoritarian because it presumes that majority will, as expressed by a choice between major political parties, carries with it some moral precedence over competing views. Participatory democracy, on the other hand is used here to broadly describe an attitude which sees the effective expression of dissent by minorities as a fundamental feature of the practice of democracy.
2.
Invitation to attend meeting sent to NEFA coordinators from NSW Police Service Chief Superintendent Kane 17 November 1992 (on file with the author).
3.
RogersN. (ed.), Green Paradigms and the Law, Southern Cross University Press, Lismore1998, p.154.
4.
Three times between 1990 and 1992 the courts found logging operations subjected to protests to be in breach of the law. These included the logging of Chaelundi state forest in both 1990 and 1991 and forestry operations at Mt Killiekrankie in 1992 in respect of which Forestry Commission NSW later pleaded guilty to a prosecution by the NSW EPA. Also see RogersN., above, p.151.
5.
Correspondence, CorkillJohn to Assistant Commissioner Ray Donaldson 26 September 1994 (on file with author).
6.
Correspondence, Office of the Ombudsman to John Corkill 21 March 1995 (on file with author).
7.
Forest Protest Protocol, NSW Police Service/North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) 21 December 1998.
