By Matthew Sims
The director of an advocacy group formerly residing in Pakenham, Monica Smit has received $4000 in damages in the County Court of Victoria, with the court finding that two out of three arrests made against Ms Smit were unlawful.
Ms Smit, 36, is the director of Reignite Democracy Australia Pty Ltd (RDA).
She claimed false imprisonment for each of the three times she was arrested while attending the anti-Dan Andrews Stop the Sale of Victoria protest organised at the Treasury Gardens on 31 October 2020.
Her Honour Judge My Anh Tran argued two of the of the three arrests were unlawful, citing a “special and enduring protection afforded by the common law to the human right to liberty“.
“The first arrest was of relatively short duration and did not involve any aggravating circumstances,“ she said.
“However, the impact on Smit of this arrest ought not be trivialised.
“In all of the circumstances, I assess the damages for this arrest at $3000.“
Judge Tran also found the third arrest was unlawful, awarding a further $1000 for damages.
Speaking in a video on her X profile, Ms Smit said she was pleased with the outcome.
“The judge was extremely fair in her reasoning,“ she said.
“I really appreciate the respect that she showed me.
“It was worth it and it was never about the money for me.“
