Sign the OPEN LETTER to Protect the Right to Protest
The Victorian State Government is planning new laws to restrict protest, in order to enforce "social cohesion". We, the undersigned, demand that the Victorian parliament abandon this repressive, unnecessary and anti-democratic suite of laws.
‘Social cohesion’ cannot be imposed by a suppression of human rights. It is through the exercise of rights such as freedom of expression, association and assembly that genuine bonds and shared understandings arise in the community.
Measures proposed by Premier Jacinta Allan include:
- A ban on wearing masks, exposing protesters to COVID risk and to injury from police use of capsicum spray.
- Restrictions on symbols of resistance, including flags.
- A prohibition on tools such as locks, ropes, and glue, staples of peaceful civil disobedience.
- Requiring multicultural organisations to sign a “social cohesion” pledge to receive public funding, limiting freedom of expression for hundreds of civil society groups.
- Creating "safe zones" around religious buildings, making significant areas of Melbourne's CBD off-limits for public assembly.
This legislation is a direct attack on democracy. It cynically targets pro- Palestine activism while threatening all movements that fight for justice, from First Nations' rights to environmental action, workers' unions, refugee rights and anti-war campaigns.
Across Australia, states have been introducing more and more repressive measures to stifle dissent. We say no to this in Victoria. The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities guarantees our freedom of expression in this state and any attempt to impinge on this freedom will be resisted.
Protest is a fundamental human right, a powerful voice of the people when other avenues fail. Protest is a bedrock of democracy and the engine of progressive social change.
We will fight to defend it.