Leading Tasmanian and national civil society groups are calling on the Rockliff government to halt the introduction of an alarming new anti-protest law, currently before the Tasmanian Parliament.

The Tasmanian lower-house is considering the Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection) Bill 2022, which would substantially increase penalties and create new offences for protest-related activity.

The Bill would have a significant chilling effect on the democratic freedom to protest. It is the Tasmanian Government’s fourth attempt to restrict citizens’ right to peaceful advocacy after previous attempts were struck down by the High Court and rejected by the Tasmanian Parliament.

The groups are calling on the government to withdraw the proposed law.

Eloise Carr, Tasmania Director at The Australia Institute, said:

“The Tasmanian Government’s new anti-protest bill continues their sustained attack on Tasmanians’ democratic right to peacefully protest. The bill creates disproportionate penalties, more than tripling the existing penalty for public annoyance and penalising trespass with the same penalty as for aggravated assault.”

Kieran Pender, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:

“This draft law is unnecessary and undemocratic. Any law that threatens to chill the fundamental democratic freedom to protest must be necessary, proportionate and subject to sufficient safeguards and oversight. The proposed law does not meet these criteria and should not become law.”

Nala Mansell of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre said: 

“Public protest is critical to the advances made by the Aboriginal community in the last half century. Without public protest there would have been no Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and no reforms to Tasmanian law to remove discriminatory provisions. As a community without easy access to public media, public protest is one of our very few avenues for seeking law reform to protect the interest of our community.”

Jenny Weber, Campaign Manager at the Bob Brown Foundation, said:

“Tasmania’s government is representing logging, mining and fish farm corporations with their anti-protest bill. In a healthy democracy citizens have a fundamental right to protest. Premier Rockliff must not sell off our democratic rights to protect nature’s destroyers. These new laws go too far but they will not stop citizens standing up to defend wild places, native forests and wildlife.”

Ray Yoshida, Campaigner at the Australian Democracy Network, said:

“Freedom of assembly and the right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Tasmanian parliament should preserve these rights by stopping the passage of this unnecessary bill.”

Adrienne Picone, CEO at the Tasmanian Council of Social Service, said:

“Protests and demonstrations are important ways for people who are excluded and marginalised to have their voices heard in public debate. We are concerned the Bill could discourage people from engaging in peaceful, legitimate protest out of fear or confusion about whether the activity is lawful.”

Media contact:

Evan Schuurman, Human Rights Law Centre, 0406 117 937, evan.schuurman@hrlc.org.au

Jake Wishart, The Australia Institute, 0413 208 134, jake@australiainstitute.org.au