Ms Brown said in Eden Local Court on Wednesday, December 8, that it was her work as a psychologist that led her to be motivated enough to take direct action in response to the logging of native forests on the Far South Coast.

Ms Brown said in her submissions to the court that while she accepted responsibility and wished to apologise for any inconvenience caused on the day, she was motivated by "climate change".

She said in her work she had witnessed the grief, loss, stress, and trauma both in her patients and in herself due to their experiences of "climate disaster".

Ms Brown entered a guilty plea for obstruct driver's/other pedestrian's path; fail to leave area on being requested by an authorised officer; and refuse/fail to comply with direction under Part 14.

Ms Brown asked the magistrate to consider dropping the convictions, however Magistrate Doug Dick was not that way inclined.

"On whether to convict or not to convict the matter is out of my hands. If people are caught breaking the law it is my job is to punish, not to forgive.

"If people were allowed to protest on whatever they felt strongly about, society would be in chaos."

"I have to send a very clear message to people who are likeminded, my role overall is in deterrence," he said.

Magistrate Dick said the first and third charges could have been dealt with as infringements on the day, and ordinarily he would not take them into account when sentencing and imposing fines.

In the end he elected not to impose the maximum fines for the infringements and reduced them from a combined total of $295 to $250.

For failure to leave an area on being requested by an authorised officer, the maximum fine could have been $2200, but Ms Brown was convicted and fined $500.

Read more Court and Crime here