Family Name:
Yates
Given Names:
Thomas Joseph
Gender:
Male
Birth-Date:
1945
Death-Date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age:
20 years old
Location:
VIC, Morwell
Occupation:
Schoolteacher
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objector, humanist
Reason for Court/ Tribunal Appearance:
[1] Application for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector
[2] Appeal against exemption from combatant duties only
Court/ Tribunal Name and Location:
[1] Magistrates Court, Morwell
[2] Magistrates Court, Morwell
Court/ Tribunal Hearing Date:
[1] 10 January 1967
[2] 14 March 1967
Court/Tribunal Outcome:
[1] Granted exemption from combatant duties only
[2] Appeal result unknown
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Thomas Yates was a schoolteacher from Morwell in regional Victoria. He served 9 months as a National Serviceman under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA), when he applied for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector. He was part of the first intake of conscripts under the NSA. Previous to his application he was discharged from the army to contest the 1966 Federal Election in the Victorian seat of McMillan. He was unsuccessful and so was subject to another call-up notice to rejoin the army. His application was heard at the Morwell Magistrates Court by Magistrate RU Davis on 10 January 1967. Thomas was granted exemption from combatant duties only. This was despite him informing the court that, His conscientious beliefs would prohibit him from taking part in any form of military activities, combatant or non-combatant. He said that this was based on a love of humanity and desire for a peaceful coexistence between mankind. Thomas said, I have tolerance for all beliefs but personally believe that no human has the right to decide who shall live and who shall die. No person, elected or otherwise, has the right to take life…I would like to see world-wide disarmament and to live under a one-world government. It is unknown if his appeal was successful.
Confirmatory Sources:
Canberra Times, 4 November 1966; 8 November 1966, p10; 22 December 1966, p.10; 11 January 1967, p.8.
Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.265.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 