A man who flew across the country "to flog the Treasurer" has had the charges he faced dismissed after a court heard he was "floridly unwell" when he threatened to harm Josh Frydenberg.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ian Stewart Mellowship appeared on Friday in the ACT Magistrates Court via video link from the Dhulwa Mental Health Unit in Symonston, where he has been since he was granted bail in mid-September.
He had earlier spent 57 days in custody at Canberra's jail after travelling to the capital from his home state of Western Australia to find and accost Mr Frydenberg.
Mellowship previously admitted to the court that, between May and July, he had threatened to assault the Treasurer in comments he made to police officers and a psychologist.
The father, who has described himself as "one of the kindest people in the community", also trespassed at the Treasury building in Canberra.
On Friday, Legal Aid lawyer Edward Chen told the court Mellowship was "floridly unwell" at the time in question.
He said Mellowship's crimes were unsophisticated and Mr Frydenberg was never at any real risk, despite the defendant's "fixation" on him, because the senior Liberal politician was almost certainly "well protected".
Mr Chen also said Mellowship had not threatened Mr Frydenberg directly, having "never got beyond the car park" during his visits to Parliament House.
The man's trespassing at the Treasury building had involved him "tailgating" someone through a turnstile, the court heard, and Mr Chen said Mellowship left both locations voluntarily when he was asked to go.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
"These were acts done by an extremely unwell man," Mr Chen said.
"Once the defendant's mental health is stabilised, this will all be an embarrassing event."
He asked the court to dismiss the charges, saying what Mellowship needed was to continue receiving the mental health treatment he was now getting for the first time.
A psychiatric treatment order already in force, he said, would ensure this happened.
Federal prosecutor Cecilia Pascoe argued the dismissal sought by Mr Chen would open the door for Mellowship to leave the mental health unit and "depart the jurisdiction" for Western Australia, where he might stop taking the medication he was now on.
Ms Pascoe said if Mellowship's condition was left untreated, experience suggested he would behave in violent, volatile and dangerous ways.
Mellowship piped up at the suggestion he might immediately return to his home state, saying: "The borders are shut. I'm not going back there. Irrelevant."
Magistrate James Lawton ultimately accepted Mr Chen's arguments, noting Mellowship's psychiatric treatment order would be extended beyond its February 2022 expiry if deemed appropriate by people with more expertise than him.
Mr Lawton believed the mental health authorities were better equipped to deal with Mellowship's issues than those in the correctional system, so he dismissed the man's charges.
The court had earlier heard Mellowship could be detained in Dhulwa under the psychiatric treatment order until experts deemed it safe to release him.
The name of the mental health condition he suffers from was not stated in court on Friday.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
