Family Name:
Plant
Given Names:
Rodney (Rod)
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1950
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
VIC, Clayton
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to register for national service
Court Name and Location:
Magistrates Court, Box Hill
Court Hearing Date:
10 May 1971
Court Outcome:
Convicted and fined $100pus $17 costs
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Rodney Plant was from Clayton, a suburb of Melbourne. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register for the July 1970 intake of conscripts under the NSA. He was summonsed on 10 May 1971 to the Magistrates Court at Box Hill. The magistrate fined him $100 plus $ 17 costs. It was unlikely that Rod was 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, August/ September 1970, p.7; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 