Four demonstrators were arrested last night after they refused to leave the Victorian Parliament while protesting against a bill that passed this morning and gives police more power to ‘move on’ protestors – a law which the Napthine Government admits will limit the right to freedom of expression, and will no doubt lead to more protests.
According to The Age, the amendments to the existing Summary Offences Bill will extend police powers to move protesters who block access to buildings, are ‘suspected’ of turning violent or cause others to “have a reasonable fear of violence.” Anyone who ignores a ‘move-on’ directive faces possible arrest and a $720 fine. The new bill also lets police petition courts for exclusion orders to ban someone from a public place for up to 12 months, and anyone found guilty of breaching that ban faces a potential two years imprisonment.
Attorney General Robert Clark has stated that the laws are targeted at protestors who willingly interfere with people going about their lawful business and will not impede the activities of those protesting peacefully, conceding however in “a statement of compatibility with the state’s charter on human rights” that “in certain circumstances, [the new bill] limits the rights to freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly and freedom of association,” which sounds slightly less than ideal. There are, though seemingly difficult to believe, some benefits to the move on laws.
The ABC are reporting that a group of twenty onlookers in the public gallery were warned against making noise during last night’s parliamentary debate, before police were ordered to forcibly removed the group who “decided instead [they] would like to engage with [their] politicians… Clearly that’s unacceptable from the democratic Upper House.”
