An Aspley high school teacher who allegedly had more than 50 kilograms of explosives in his home last year accused Brisbane legal firms of a boycott which is denying him adequate legal representation yesterday.
In the fourth day of his committal hearing, John Howard Amundsen argued that a prosecution-led media campaign over the past 10 months made him “undesirable” to all of Australia’s leading law firms.
Amundsen openly stated to Magistrate Brian Hine that “no law firm was willing to touch me”.
Amundsen has represented himself in his committal hearing in Brisbane’s Magistrates Court on 5 charges of including possession of dangerous goods in a vehicle and two counts of possession of a weapon.
Amundsen was the first Queenslander to be charged under federal anti-terrorism laws, but those charges were subsequently dropped.
Magistrate Hine reprimanded Amundsen for confusing or frustrating witnesses with his line of questioning relating to his purchase of 53kg of explosives from Orica Ltd.
Amundsen accused Site Manager for Orica at Yatala, Robert Grey of aiding in his illegal purchase of dangerous materials from Orica.
Amundsen’s accusations were related to what he called “remarkable coincidences” within the details of his alleged stealing and falsifying of documents needed to legally purchase explosives in Queensland.
“I do give benefit of doubt to those who give identification in my industry” Mr Grey said, when asked about his initial suspicions of the purchase in order to justify why he accepted Amundsen’s allegedly fake documentation.
The accusations noticeably aggravated Mr. Grey to the point of verbally rebuking Amundsen.
Amundsen was repeatedly warned about badgering witnesses for information unknown or irrelevant to them.
The day’s proceedings were closed when the Magistrate agreed that Amundsen needed to seek legal advice before the hearing could continue, even stating that the following day’s proceedings would be delayed until Amundsen had gained adequate advice.
The committal hearing is set down for a total of three weeks after which a decision is to be made as to whether or not Amundsen will sit before a jury.
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