You might be a seasoned protestor experienced in writing Form 1s (NSW’s protest ‘permits’), or university life might be your first introduction to the world of protest. Either way, your path forward is a passionate but perilous one. Our right to protest is a fundamental democratic right, and it is under siege.
Over the past two decades, 49 laws have been introduced across both Federal and State Governments eroding away our right to protest. These unjust laws have been described by activists as a ‘patchwork quilt of repression.’
The most notable from this tranche of laws is the NSW Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 introduced under the Liberal Perrottet Government with support from the NSW Labor Opposition. The Act criminalised any disruptive action on major roads or public facilities (including tunnels, bridges, trains stations, and ports) with penalties of up to $22,000 and/or two years imprisonment. Parts of the Act were later determined to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of NSW.
The legislation was rammed through Parliament in 30 hours at the tail end of a sitting period without due scrutiny or consultation. The Labor Opposition agreed to support the legislation on the condition that industrial action occurring on major roads or public facilities would not be criminalised.
Climate activist Violet Coco was the first to be charged under this legislation and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for blocking one lane of traffic for 25 minutes.
Another example: protest actions were organised at Port Botany in November 2023 and March 2024 to blockade vessels from the Israeli shipping line ZIM, in response to ZIM’s CEO proclaiming that their first priority was the “[Israeli] Ministry of Defence and the government of Israel.”
23 activists were violently arrested and charged under these laws at the November 2023 action. The following March, 19 more were arrested and charged at the subsequent blockade. Union officials and organisers were among the arrestees.
The Inclosed Lands Protection Act 1901 imposes penalties on unlawful entry to inclosed premises (vaguely defined as anything that has something resembling a fence) and was originally introduced to give farmers the right to cull stray goats that happened to wander onto their premises.
The 2016 amendment to the Act drastically increases the penalties for interfering with the “conduct of the business or undertaking” on an inclosed premise, and expands the police powers of search and seizure. These changes were introduced when the NSW Government caved to the fossil fuel lobby’s desire to criminalise anti-coal seam gas direct action.
This was the law that the University of Sydney used to shut down the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. The Encampment was a vital part of the Palestine movement in Australia, highlighting the widespread student and staff support for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions.
In a direct response to the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, the University introduced the Campus Access Policy limiting activities “any user of University lands” can engage in without prior approval, a move that was slammed by students, staff, and civil liberties groups as draconian.
Protest is what has given us the rights we enjoy today. I fear that too many have forgotten why we protest, and come to expect protests to conform to some nebulous ideal of ‘decorum’ and ‘civility’. What is the point of a protest if it does not disrupt?
Despite the hostile landscape, we are not deterred, and you should not be either. Educate yourself and others about these laws and your rights. The establishment, policymakers, corporate lobby, and police want you to be disengaged and afraid that you might be arrested and charged. Never give them that satisfaction.
