Defending the right to protest
KEY PROJECT | Democratic Freedoms
The freedom to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but for years, protest rights across Australia have been under a sustained attack. The Human Rights Law Centre is fighting attacks on our right to protest through advocacy and strategic litigation.
The freedom to protest is fundamental to our democracy. So much progress for people and communities – from Aboriginal land rights to saving the Franklin River – was achieved through public mobilisation. But for years, protest rights across Australia have been under a sustained attack.
In recent years, these threats have grown considerably with the introduction of damaging new laws in several states. In 2022, the New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian Governments each introduced draconian new laws which erode the rights of protesters and threaten them with jail time.
The NSW laws could see peaceful community protesters jailed for up to two years and subjected to enormous fines. We conducted sustained advocacy to try and prevent these laws from being introduced and continue to call for these laws to be scrapped. We are also building solidarity in the social justice sector and advocating against police overreach and violence against protesters.
Many recent anti-protest laws have been specifically designed to curb environmental activism at a time when standing up for a healthy climate has never been more critical. In 2021, we launched a joint report with Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Environmental Defenders Office which mapped the systematic repression of communities and organisations advocating for climate justice.