Rita Panahi: There needs to be a reckoning for Victoria Police’s gross overreach

There needs to be a reckoning for the gross overreach that saw police handcuff a pregnant mum in her pyjamas over a social media post.

Another victim of Dan Andrews’ police state has been exonerated.

Ballarat mum Zoe Buhler had the single charge of incitement to contravene public health directions withdrawn on Tuesday.

Vision of the pregnant mum’s arrest over a Facebook post quickly went viral and revealed to the world what had become of Victoria, and indeed Australia.

We went from being seen as an idyllic corner of the world to serving as a cautionary tale of how a free, modern society can devolve into an irrational, illiberal dystopia.

A place where hard fought-for rights and civil liberties can be lost when a populace is scared silly by hysterical, opportunistic politicians and a complicit media.

What happened to Buhler was a shameful episode but she was hardly alone in being victimised.

Police dropped a charge against Ballarat mum Zoe Buhler, who was accused of breaching public health orders during Victoria’s Covid lockdown.

Quietly dropping charges against lockdown opponents is not enough.

There needs to be a reckoning for the gross overreach that saw police harass old ladies on park benches, force children off playgrounds, crash tackle people for being unmasked outdoors, hand out crippling fines to people laying flowers at a cemetery and handcuff a pregnant woman in her kitchen for a social media post.

Then there is the brutal treatment of anti-lockdown protesters who were dealt with like domestic terrorists while the hopelessly politicised Victoria Police handled BLM and environmental protesters with respect bordering on reverence.

Buhler’s arrest was captured on video and showed the distressed young mum pleading with officers explaining that she had an ultrasound appointment in an hour.

But Dan’s foot soldiers were not about to show the pregnant woman any mercy; they put her in handcuffs in front of her children.

Then, as she wept, they informed Buhler that her computer and all her devices as well as the mobile phones of others in the house, including her sister, would be seized.

Zoe was pregnant when she was handcuffed in her Ballarat home over a social media post.

And, all because of this post which she offered to delete: “Peaceful protest. All social distancing measures are to be followed so we don’t get arrested. Please wear a mask unless you have a medical reason not to. As some of you may have seen the government has gone to extreme measures and are using scare tactics through the media to prevent the Melbourne protest. Here in Ballarat we can be a voice for those in stage four lockdowns. We can be seen and heard and hopefully make a difference. End lockdowns. Stand for human rights. We live in a *free* country.”

That’s the post. That’s what led to a two-year nightmare for a young woman and her family. When Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius was asked about the heavy handed police tactics back in September 2020 he was unapologetic.

“I’ve seen the footage,” he said. “The members have conducted themselves entirely reasonably, they’ve been polite, professional. In this case we’re alleging this individual engaged in serious criminal behaviour inciting a public protest at a time when public protest is unlawful.”

Serious criminal behaviour? What does Cornelius have to say now that the charge has been dropped? And, can he explain why charges against other anti-lockdown protesters have been dropped?

Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius was unapologetic about the force’s heavy handed tactics. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Cornelius condemned those standing against lockdown policies as “batshit crazy”.

Let’s see him front a media conference now and justify his previous statements.

Buhler lived with the stress of having a criminal charge hanging over her head for two years. On Tuesday she said she was glad the ordeal was over and was unapologetic about taking a stand “for people’s human rights and freedoms” and hoped the police would leave innocent people alone in the future.

And, she had this message for Premier Daniel Andrews: “I hope one day you’ll have your day in court”.

Ballarat mum Zoe Buhler says she’d like to see Dan Andrews “have his day in court”. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Member for Western Victoria, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Government Scrutiny, Bev McArthur said Buhler’s plight was an example of the way this state was ruled by fear.

“Zoe Buhler was used by the Premier of this state as an example of how draconian and dictatorial he was prepared to be in his flaming of fears during the lockdown,” she said.

“He ruled by fear – and the police were clearly used as his tool to enforce abhorrent, largely unnecessary and undemocratic public health orders. This charge was wrong from day one. That it has taken two years for it to be withdrawn is a disgrace – a mark of shame on our political state.”

McArthur called on the premier to apologise to the “pyjama warrior” and thanked Buhler for fighting for freedom.

This state, and indeed this country, needs a royal commission into each jurisdiction’s Covid-19 response examining every element from draconian restrictions, border closures, elective surgery cancellations, school closures, mask and vaccine mandates, curfews, police response and hotel quarantine to name just a few.

It appears former prime minister Scott Morrison’s bizarre antics in secretly swearing himself into five ministries may motivate the Anthony Albanese government to call a royal commission.

But the inquiry must have a wide focus including examining the establishment of national cabinet and the conduct of health bureaucrats.