CASH, Greg

Family Name:

Cash

Given Names:

Greg

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1951

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

QLD, Brisbane

Occupation:

Queensland Institute of Technology Student

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister

Reason for Court Appearance:

Court Name and Location:

Court Hearing Date:

Court Outcome:

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Greg Cash was from Queensland and a student at the Queensland Institute of Technology. He was president of the Student Union. He was Catholic by religion. He refused to register for national service under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He was summonsed to court on 29 August 1971. He was convicted and fined $40 plus costs. In his statement to the court he said that he opposed conscription and stated that his rights as a Christian and Catholic were infringed by the NSA. He drew attention to the fact that the Andrew Peacock, Minister for the Army, had said recently that Christians should stand by their principles. Greg said that he did not lightly defy the law but that he could do no less in view of his beliefs. If further action was taken against him, he would regard it as religious persecution. It was unlikely that he did not experience further prosecution under the NSA. The government during 1971, and especially 1972, were reluctant to prosecute when the result would be jailing a young man. This was particularly in regard to a refusal to obey a call-up notice. This attracted 18 months’ imprisonment. The government aimed to minimize its political risk of having large numbers of young men in prison. All pending prosecutions under the NSA were stopped by the newly elected Whitlam Labor government in early December 1972.

Confirmatory Sources:

Tribune, 1 September 1971, p.12.

Peacemaker, May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.