Peter Clark.
In echoes of the case of Ms Dhu, a Noongar mother-of-five called police for help during a family violence incident, but they instead ran a background check on her. They found an outstanding warrant for $3900 in unpaid fines, relating to an unregistered dog in 2012. She was jailed for 14 days in lieu of payment.
Peter Clark, a Melbourne pensioner, heard the story and “was incensed, so I decided to do something about it”. He paid her fine and is now calling for an end to the system he calls “a national disgrace”. Western Australia is the only state that imprisons people for non-payment of small fines.
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