Rosemary Anne Penwarden, 64, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon after a jury found her guilty of creating and using the false document.
"Mrs Penwarden has very strong views about climate change and has a commitment to reducing the effects of global warming...she is entitled to express those views," Judge Michael Turner said.
A couple of months after the trial Penwarden was arrested again after a group of protesters used a substance to affix themselves to a Wellington road.
She was charged with endangering transport and originally declined release in the Wellington District Court before being granted electronically monitored bail less than a fortnight later by the High Court.
In September 2019, 12 days before the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) conference went ahead at Queenstown’s Millennium Hotel, Penwarden used a friend’s laptop to draft a letter.
Using PEPANZ letterhead and industry logos, it explained the event was postponed because of the expected disruption from protesters.
Penwarden sent the document to delegates from the gmail account "conferencepepanz".
Conference organiser's worked hurriedly behind the scenes to reassure attendees that the event remained on schedule and it eventually proceeded as planned.
At trial, Penwarden accepted she had been behind the ruse but was adamant it was simply satire.
She told the court she was astonished when police seized her laptop and phone in 2020 and charged her.
"You have a bit of fun doing that and it’s a form of protest," Penwarden said.
"I really liked the idea of being directly able to communicate with these people inside [the industry]."
Crown prosecutor Richard Smith rejected her explanation and argued the forgery was clearly a bid to derail the conference.
He stressed to the jury that climate change was real but that could not factor in their decision.
Richard Smith said Penwarden "made a bad decision, but [was] not a bad person".
"There is no suggestion here that this is not a noble cause."
Counsel Ben Smith said Penwarden had simply been acting on her conscience after she had "done everything to try and move the needle on the issue" of climate change.
"She had done all the things citizens are supposed to do."
Judge Turner said the sentence needed to promote "a sense of responsibility for the harm caused".
He commended the time Penwarden had dedicated to her community over the years and sentenced her to 125 hours’ of community work.
"This time she will be undertaking work for the public of New Zealand," he said.
Penwarden’s many supporters welcomed her out of the dock with open arms and sang Te Aroha as they exited the court room.
In a statement, Penwarden said the prosecution, which she believed was pushed by industry executives, had "backfired".
"My trial drew worldwide attention . . . Rather than silencing me, the climate cause could not have had better publicity if we’d paid for it," she said.
"They also don’t seem to understand that we grandmothers won’t be silenced when our grandchildren’s future is at risk."
Coal Action Network Aotearoa’s Cindy Baxter said the "light" sentence handed down to Penwarden proved she should never have been charged.
"The fossil fuel industry appears hellbent on punishing peaceful protestors instead of facing up to the carnage its product is causing," she said.
