Page 93 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Unfortunately, despite our rich history of peaceful protest, there is always a countervailing force pressing down to stop change from happening. The right to peaceful protest has always been under attack. At times in our past, and even today, the right to peaceful protest has been curtailed. From the disgraceful policy of the Bjelke-Petersen government in Queensland to the actions of this federal government, the right to peaceful protest cannot be taken for granted.
Workers today can be fined up to $42,000 for simply attending union protests without written permission from their employer. Their names and addresses are required to be handed over, on request, to the government. This sort of policy belongs in a totalitarian state, not modern Australia.
It is not just governments that are having this effect. Large corporations are also having a chilling effect on democratic rights to peaceful protest in this country. Companies like Adani are taking an aggressive approach to litigation with an eye to silencing those who speak out. According to leaked documents, the law firm engaged by Adani, AJ & Co, is attempting to use the legal system to inflict prohibitive costs on those speaking out against the project. This sort of behaviour chills peaceful democratic actions like protest. It makes people worried about standing up for their community. It makes it harder for the little guy to stand up to the big corporation, which in this case is a very big corporation.
In contrast, the ACT government has a strong track record of backing the right to protest. The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association is enshrined in the ACT Human Rights Act under section 15. The ACT government has taken action to proactively support peaceful protests such as the recent school climate strikes. While federal MPs and some of those opposite have ridiculed these protests, we support children wanting to have their voice heard. History has never been made in the classroom; it is made outside of it. Hitting the streets and demanding that the government secure your future is a patriotic act by those schoolchildren, not something to be laughed at.
One important aspect of protest is civil disobedience. It is a legitimate and peaceful tool that people can use to get their point across. It often comes in for heavy scrutiny by the conservatives, for instance in relation to breaking the law if you feel it is unjust. Conservatives everywhere were outraged when Sally McManus made the point that unjust laws should be broken. Conservatives believe that this is tantamount to societal collapse. That exact same mindset would have seen the same conservatives diligently upholding all sorts of terrible laws.
I am not advocating for a lawless society. People who break unjust and immoral laws throughout history have always been prepared to suffer the consequences for the greater good. The right to peaceful protest is something we should cherish and hold dear. As a society we can only progress when we push the boundaries of what is acceptable and agitate for action.
MS ORR (Yerrabi—Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Disability, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety and Minister for
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video