Human Rights Law Centre reports.
Police had been covertly surveilling a private property where individuals linked to Blockade Australia were camped. Blockade Australia has been behind an effort of resistance to pressure Australian governments to take stronger action on the climate crisis. Serious concerns have been raised regarding the legal basis of the surveillance, the reported failure of police conducting surveillance to identify themselves, and reports of injuries sustained by activists from an encounter with an unmarked police car.
Following this, a raid was reportedly conducted with about 100 police officers, many of them armed, and Blockade Australia members told media that a dog squad, riot police and helicopters were also present. About 40 individuals were detained during the raid, eight individuals were charged with offences (including for conspiracy to obstruct a road under new anti-protest laws) and two remain in detention.
The extensive covert surveillance and pre-emptive policing sets a disturbing precedent for protest rights. The raid also continues a troubling trend in the state of disproportionate crack-downs on the right to protest. In March, NSW Parliament passed the Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Act 2022, draconian new anti-protest laws which threaten everyone from people marching for gender equality to anti-war protestors with up to two years in jail and a $22,000 fine.
Where previous legislation in NSW covered disruption on major bridges or tunnels, the expanded offence covers roads, train stations, ports and public and private infrastructure, and has been widely condemned.
These new laws are part of a concerning trend nationwide of bipartisan support for regressive legislation that further criminalises peaceful community activists. This week alone, there has been significant community push back against anti-protest laws before the Victorian and Tasmanian parliaments.
The groups call on NSW police to act responsibly, with integrity and respect for human rights in response to protests in the coming weeks.
Read the full article here. (Human Rights Law Centre, 23 June 2022)
