Kojonup man who threatened shearers in group attack and repeatedly supplied his sister meth avoids jail

A Kojonup man who threatened shearers with weapons during a violent dispute, repeatedly supplied his sister meth, and drove despite his licence being banned for life, has been sentenced in court. Brett John Harris, 43, appeared in Katanning Magistrates Court on April 21 for using an unlicensed vehicle on a road, having no authority to drive, intent to sell and supply a prohibited drug (meth), being armed with a dangerous weapon in public, and cannabis possession. Following negotiations, Harris pleaded guilty to all five charges between February 6 and November 29, 2024. An aggravated common assault charge was discontinued by the prosecution. Armed with a tyre lever, Harris met his brother and nephew, who were each armed with a baseball bat and machete, at the Kojonup shearers quarters on October 16, 2023. Earlier that afternoon, the shearing team had accused the nephew of stealing a bucket containing their gear. After a family member witnessed the group physically attack him, Harris was called to the quarters at 5.40pm alongside his brother for a revenge plan. The trio threatened to “kill everyone in the house” at the quarters, prompting the shearers to flee into the yard and escape through the fence. Harris was picked up on Jones Road and left the scene. On November 2, police attended Harris’ Kojonup residence with a drug search warrant. Harris declared a bag containing 2.1g of meth which was under the couch with three bank cards. He admitted to storing and supplying meth to his sister, who was addicted and relied on him to limit her use, usually 0.1g at a time. A year later, on February 29, 2024 Harris was seen driving a motorcycle along Albany Highway and Broomehill-Kojonup Road in Kojonup. Harris had his driver’s licence disqualified for life in February 2012, and the vehicles registration had expired in 2023. On April 12, police found 28g of cannabis in Harris’ pocket during a search. The offending breached a 10-month suspended imprisonment order and an eight month community-based order. Lawyer Georgia Herford argued it would be unjust for her client to serve the suspended prison term for the breach because of a lengthy stint in custody. She said there was an ongoing dispute between shearers in Kojonup and though he answered his nephew’s call for “back up”, when he arrived at the scene he decided he did not want to be involved and left. She told the court the two co-accused had received suspended imprisonment orders for their offending. Police prosecutor Sgt Dylan Fisher said Harris had a significant record and his “vigilante behaviour” had “potentially serious consequences”. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers told Harris that his time in custody gave him “a get out of jail card today” but would not in the future. Harris was sentenced to an eight-month community-based order with program and supervision requirements, and fined $1420, with $272.70 in costs and $41.50 half annual licence fee. A nine-month licence disqualification was added onto his existing life ban.