Introduction to the media issue: The right to protest: are Australia's new protest laws too severe?
Video clip at right: On December 14, 2022, ABC News televised a news segment discussing the New South Wales protest laws and the bail appeal of protester Violet Coco who has been sentenced to 15 months' jail.
The Issue at a Glance
What they said...'If protesters want to put our way of life at risk, they should have the book thrown at them and that's pleasing to see'
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet, commenting on the 15-month prison sentence given climate activist Violet Coco
'These laws are meant to kill environmental activism and frighten people into silence'
Bob Brown, environmental activist and former federal senator and leader of the Greens
On January 12, 2023, Human Rights Watch issued its World Report 2023. The report criticised Australia on several fronts, including its adoption of laws imposing harsh penalties on certain sorts of protest.
Less than a month earlier, on December 2, 2022, climate activist Violet Coco had been fined $2,500 and sentenced to 15 months jail for blocking traffic on the Sydney Harbor Bridge for 28 minutes earlier in 2022.
The fine and prison term sparked criticism of New South Wales new protest legislation which had been passed on April 1, 2022.Similar protest legislation was passed in Tasmania in September 2022, and legislation specifically focused on discouraging anti-logging protests was passed in Victoria in August 2022.
Critics of these laws claim they represent an attack on basic human rights of assembly, association, and freedom of speech and threaten the health of Australian democracy. Their supporters claim they are intended to protect the community from disruptive and potentially dangerous behaviour.