Human rights groups urge Victoria not to adopt NSW protest permit system in response to alleged antisemitic attacks
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced an 'anti-hate taskforce' after Friday's arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, the targeting of an Israeli restaurant, the alleged vandalism of a company linked to Israeli-weapons and isolated but violent chants at a demonstration on Sunday.
The taskforce, which will meet for the first time later this week, will allow senior ministers and law enforcement officials to consider how to further 'increase police powers to stamp out extreme and violent protest'.
According to the premier, these powers would be in addition to the sweeping changes proposed by the state government in response to an arson attack on the ultra-orthodox Adass synagogue in Melbourne late last year. These include a ban on protests outside places of worship and a ban on face masks and balaclavas.
'We are currently drafting legislation to give police even more powers to crack down on extremist behaviour at protests,' Allan said. 'Part of the work of the taskforce will be to hear from Victoria police and others about what more we can consider.'
On Sunday, the leaders of a pro-Palestinian protest rally in Melbourne's CBD condemned the violent attack on the synagogue.
Some protesters were later heard chanting 'death, death to the IDF'. The same chant was allegedly used by those targeting the Israeli restaurant Miznon on Friday night.
'The behaviour we saw yesterday was particularly odious, hateful behaviour,' said Allan, who pledged to 'stamp out extremist behaviour at protests. It came what felt like only moments after the attack on a synagogue.'
Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, supported the Allan government's position and said more police powers may be warranted.
'If these protests continue to escalate, [the government] will be left with no choice but to introduce a more robust permit regime, like that in New South Wales that ensures freedom of expression doesn't come at the expense of community safety and cohesion,' Leibler said.
'This isn't just about Victoria versus NSW. It's about whether we allow extremists to dictate who feels safe in a liberal democracy.'
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry's president, Daniel Aghon, has also called for the permit system in response to recent antisemitic attacks.
In NSW, those granted a permit to protest after submitting an application to police are protected from being charged under the state's anti-protest laws or police move on powers. Since 2022, those protesting without a permit risk two years' imprisonment or a $22,000 fine if police issue a move-on order and protestors do not comply.
Laws introduced this year also gave police new powers to issue move-on orders if a protest is taking place near a place of worship.
Late last month Hannah Thomas, a former Greens candidate, was hospitalised after being arrested by police and faces losing vision in one eye. She claimed the new laws had 'emboldened' the police in interactions with protesters.
Sign up to Breaking News Australia
Get the most important news as it breaks
after newsletter promotion
The Human Rights Law Centre urged the Victorian government not to adopt the NSW permit system, which it has described as 'draconian', 'anti-democratic' and 'repressive'.
'Misguided police powers and repressive laws against peaceful protesters do not keep communities safe from hate crimes and racism,' said the centre's legal director, Sarah Schwartz, who is also the chief executive of the progressive Jewish Council of Australia. 'Instead, they divide communities and create a dangerous and repressive environment for those raising their voices through peaceful assembly.'
The president of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties, Timothy Roberts, said the potential for police to be granted further powers was 'deeply concerning'.
'The lesson from NSW that should be learned from is they have overreached, with devastating consequences in the overreach of police powers,' he said.
When asked whether protest permits were necessary in Victoria, the shadow minister for police, David Southwick, said 'nothing should be taken off the table'.
It is not known what further police powers the taskforce will consider. In a press conference on Monday, Allan did not reference protest permits but said her government would 'take any action necessary'.
In October last year, Allan said the then chief commissioner of Victoria police Shane Patton had 'made pretty clear on previous occasions that he doesn't see there's a need for the permit system'.
'In my mind that runs the risk of being a very lengthy, unwieldy, time-consuming process for both the police force and the court system and it does not give a guarantee that each and every event would be undertaken peacefully,' Allan said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
After weeks of tension and speculation in mushroom murder trial, attention returns to the three lives taken
After two-and-a-half months, more than 50 witnesses and a media frenzy that had journalists sprinting through the streets of Morwell to make the verdict in time, the final moment of Erin Patterson's trial arrived in silence. At 2.15pm on Monday at Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell, about a two-hour drive from Melbourne, courtroom four was packed and humming with tension. Justice Christopher Beale, who had presided over the supreme court trial, instructed everyone to remain silent during the hearing. He didn't need to. You could hear a pin drop. Before the judge entered, Patterson sat between two security guards. She closed her eyes. Her chest rose and fell with slow, deliberate breaths. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email But when the doors opened and the judge and jury filed in, her eyes snapped open, focused, unmoving. One by one, the charges were read aloud. Patterson was found guilty of the attempted murder of Pastor Ian Wilkinson, who fell critically ill after a lunch at Patterson's Leongatha home on 29 July 2023. He was the only survivor. He had eaten a beef wellington laced with deadly death cap mushrooms. He spent seven weeks in hospital recovering. He told the trial the plates his and the other three lunch guests' meals were served on were a different colour to Patterson's, testimony that the defence disputed. Patterson was also guilty of the murder of Heather Wilkinson, Ian's wife and her estranged husband Simon's aunt. Guilty of the murder of Gayle Patterson, Simon's mother. Guilty of the murder of Donald Patterson, Simon's father. With each guilty verdict – Patterson looked straight at the jury comprised of seven men and five women. She didn't flinch. Her face was unreadable. After a week in the witness dock, where she was prone to emotional outbursts, this time, there were no tears. There were no members of either the Wilkinson or Patterson families in the courtroom to hear the verdict. Just one friend of Erin Patterson's, quietly wiping away tears. It was 1.38pm, when the supreme court's email hit journalists' inboxes: the jury had reached their verdicts. It was unexpected – most reporters had stepped out for lunch at the same time the jury had done every day during the trial. They raced out of cafes across the city, leaving their meals uneaten and frantically calling their editors. The trial was the subject of feverish media attention which only escalated once the jury retired. Outside the automatic doors of the Latrobe Valley law courts, a circus formed – shade tents, fold-out chairs, gorilla carts filled with cables and tripods. All told, there were close to 100 reporters, photographers, camera operators, podcasters, documentary crews and screenwriters on hand. Only a small number of them were able to make it into court four, the room where the verdict was handed down. Members of the public keen to be in the room got to court early, went upstairs, and left their bags and jackets in an orderly line outside the door to the court room. Morwell coursed with an odd mix of suspense and boredom in the days since 30 June, when the jury retired to deliberate. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Lawyers for the defence and prosecution were seen around town, unrobed and unburdened, waiting like everyone else. One of the two cafes within a block of the court had a record day for takings and covers on 1 July, the day after Beale finished his charge to the jury. Towards the end of those 365-pages of directions, he stressed to the 12-member jury the importance of them reaching a unanimous verdict, though stressed they could get to that verdict however they wished. They were sequestered, transported to court every morning, Monday to Saturday, and deliberated in the jury room, before being taken back to a hotel in the late afternoon. As Beale half jokingly quipped, they were 'locked up.' And when they finally emerged, Patterson was guilty. There was no outrage. No tears. No court room drama. Just silence. And the weight of three lives taken.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Woman ‘loses arm' in lion attack at Australian zoo
A woman has suffered severe arm injuries after being attacked by a lion at an Australian zoo. The 50-year-old was at Queensland 's Darling Downs Zoo, south of Toowomba, on Sunday morning, when the incident occurred. She had been observing animal keepers in the carnivore precinct before opening hours. She was airlifted by helicopter from the rural town of Pilton to Brisbane 's Princess Alexandra Hospital for surgery and is now in a stable condition, the zoo said in a statement. Several news outlets reported that the woman lost the injured arm. Zoo staff are now cooperating with government workplace safety investigators to establish how the incident happened, with the state government confirming an investigation is underway. "Inexplicably ... one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it," the zoo statement said. "At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public." The woman was not a staff member but a "much loved member" of the zoo's "family", the statement added. She had watched keepers at work many times over the past 20 years and was "well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals", the zoo said. 'Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been onsite all morning. The zoo is working with them to establish how this incident occurred but the full details will not be known until (the woman) can be interviewed.' Staff at the 48-hectare (119-acre) zoo declined media interviews on Monday. The zoo planned to reopen on Tuesday for the first time since the attack. "The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way," the statement said. Five years ago, two lions mauled and critically injured a keeper inside their enclosure at the Shoalhaven Zoo in the state of New South Wales.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Saba Saba protests: Central Nairobi sealed off ahead of Kenyan protests
Kenya's security forces have blocked all major roads leading into central Nairobi, ahead of planned nationwide of the city centre is deserted, with businesses shut and a heavy security presence on the streets. Some schools have advised students to stay at of early-morning commuters and overnight travellers were stranded at checkpoints, some located more than 10km (six miles) from the city centre, with only a few vehicles allowed the city, roads leading to key government sites - including the president's official residence, State House, and the Kenyan parliament - are barricaded with razor wire. In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the police said it was their constitutional duty to protect lives and property while maintaining public protests, dubbed Saba Saba (Swahili for 7 July), commemorate the 1990s struggle for multiparty democracy in demonstrations have been organised primarily by young people, demanding good governance, greater accountability, and justice for victims of police brutality. They are the latest in a wave of anti-government protests that began last demonstrations have turned violent, with reports of infiltration by "goons", who are accused of looting and attacking protesters. Civil society groups allege collusion between these groups and the police - accusations the police have strongly Sunday, an armed gang attacked the headquarters of a human rights NGO in Nairobi. The Kenya Human Rights Commission had been hosting a press conference organised by women calling for an end to state violence ahead of Monday's year marks the 35th anniversary of the original Saba Saba protests - a key moment that helped usher in multiparty democracy in Kenya after years of one-party rule. You may also be interested in: Why the death of a blogger has put Kenya's police on trialAre East African governments uniting to silence dissent?Kenyan vendor shot by police during protests dies after life support switched off Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
