JIGGINS, John

Family Name:

Jiggins

Given Names:

John

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1951

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

QLD

Occupation:

Queensland Institute of Technology Student

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister, anti-conscription

Reason for Court Appearance:

Failure to register for national service

Court Name and Location:

Court of Petty Sessions , Brisbane

Court Hearing Date:

27 August 1971

Court Outcome:

Convicted and fined $40 plus costs

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

John Jiggins was from Brisbane in Queensland. He was a student at the Queensland Institute of Technology and an active member of the Brisbane Draft Resisters Union. He was opposed to the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). Accordingly, he refused to register for a 1971 intake of conscripts. On 27 August 1971 at the Brisbane Court of Petty Sessions he was convicted and fined $40 plus costs of failing to register for national service under the NSA. John shared the aim of a socialist revolution in Australia and the revolutionary aims of the people of Vietnam and he, with others, indicted the United States and Australian counter revolutionary intervention. It is likely that John was not further prosecuted 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:

Peacemaker, March/ April 1971, p.11.

Tribune, 1 September 1971, p.12.