TAFT, Marc

Family Name:

Taft

Given Names:

Marc

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1950

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

VIC, Surrey Hills

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister

Reason for Court Appearance:

Failure to register for national service

Court Name and Location:

Court of Petty Sessions, Box Hill

Court Hearing Date:

1 Mach 1971

Court Outcome:

Convicted and fined

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Marc Taft was from Surrey Hills, a suburb of Melbourne. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA), He refused to register for the January 1970 intake of conscripts. He was summonsed to the Court of Petty Sessions at Box Hill on1 March 1971. The magistrate convicted and fined him. It is likely that Marc was never 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, May/ June 1970, p.4; March/ April 1971, p.11; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.