Face masks, terrorist flags to be banned under major protest crackdown

Activists will be banned from concealing their identity under a suite of reforms introduced by the premier to clamp down on extremist behaviour at protests, including laws to protect places of worship.

Activists will be banned from wearing face masks and balaclavas or carrying glue, locks and ropes as part of a major crackdown on protests in Victoria.

Premier Jacinta Allan has unveiled a suite of reforms to stamp out extremist behaviour at protests, including new laws that will protect places of worship from rallies.

As revealed by the Sunday Herald Sun, police will also be given extra powers to stamp out religious hatred at protests, and new laws will strip protesters of the ability to conceal their identities.

Premier Jacinta Allan announces the planned crackdown. Picture: David Geraghty

The new laws will also ban flags and symbols of listed terrorist organisations — including Hamas and Hezbollah — at a state level to fill in any gaps in the Commonwealth’s anti-terror legislation.

Protesters will no longer be able to glue themselves to main roads or cars and will not be able to hide their identities behind face coverings such as masks or balaclavas.

Police will have the power to search, seize, remove, disassemble and destroy glue, rope, chains, locks and other dangerous attachment devices.

Protesters will no longer be able to glue themselves to main roads or cars. Picture: David Crosling

Unmasking troublemakers at protests was a key request from police, who have complained about the difficulty of holding perpetrators to account.

Police Minister Anthony Carbines said face coverings are being used to “embolden bad behaviour” by people threatening and intimidating Victorians.

“Ski masks are for Mt Buller in the ski season — they’re not for the streets of Melbourne,” Mr Carbines said.

“If you have the courage of your convictions and if you stand for something, you don’t get to hide behind a mask here in Victoria.

Ms Allan said the government was sick of protests that have “caused division in our streets” and was committed to stamping out anti-Semitism. “We will be setting a standard — we do not tolerate anti semitism,” she said.

Peter Dutton asked why it took the Allan government ‘so long to react to the reasonable requests’ of Jewish people.

“Anti-Semitism is a cancer and we must leave no stone unturned.

“Anti-Semistism thrives in extreme and radical environments, and we are giving police more powers to control protest and making it harder for agents of violence and hate to hide.

“This isn’t about the Middle East. This is about Victoria. This is about our values and the right of anyone in this state to live, work and pray freely without fear of intimidation, fear and violence.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu – we all deserve the right to simply be who we are.”

Unmasking troublemakers at protests is a key request from police. Picture: AFP

The new laws will come in addition to new anti-vilification laws.

The changes follow calls from the Jewish Community Council of Victoria for the “urgent introduction of stronger laws to restrict harmful, intimidating and highly disruptive protests”.

President Philip Zajac, in a letter to the Premier last week, urged the government to grant Victoria Police greater powers to “remove or disperse those who they believe may cause harm to the community and to strengthen exclusion orders”.

“The JCCV again emphasises the need for a permit system to allow Victoria Police to direct protesters to areas where they are less likely to cause harm or disruption,” he wrote.

The premier says the government is sick of protests causing division on Melbourne streets. Picture: David Crosling

JCCV chief executive Naomi Levin welcomed the reforms as a “starting point”, saying she hoped there was more to come.

“We have been having these conversations with government for a long time,” she said.

“It is obviously really regrettable that it took such an extreme and dangerous event – and devastating for our community – for these changes to come about.

“But we’re cautiously optimistic that with the introduction with these reforms announced today Melbourne and Victoria will be a safer place for us all to live.”

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has been a fierce critic of Ms Allan’s response to soaring antisemitism, said the new measures were a “welcome start” but “by no means the end of what is required”.

“Permits, stronger move on powers and an end to the chants of hate are also urgently needed,” he said.

“Only then will the Premier have a chance of curing, what she rightly described today, as the “cancer” of antisemitism that has “caused division in our streets”.

Jewish Liberal MP David Southwick said the Allan government’s “delay in addressing this crisis” had left communities “vulnerable and exposed to harm”.

“Still no move-on laws, still no serious consequences for these dangerous actions,” he said.

“Now we’re told we’ll have to wait until February for meaningful change. Why not recall Parliament now and take immediate action to protect our communities?”

The reforms will still need to pass parliament next year.

However, the opposition has been calling for new laws to protect places of worship and extra police powers to ban face coverings at protests and extremists from displaying terrorist flags and symbols.

Jacinta Allan has been criticised for not acting sooner. Picture: David Caird

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he couldn’t understand why it had taken the Allan government “so long to react to the reasonable requests” of Jewish people.

Mr Dutton claimed the escalation in anti-semitic acts was the result of Ms Allan and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “sitting on their hands for the last 14 months”.

“If you allow these lunatics to continue their protests at university campuses and you allow them to spew out their hatred and affiliate with a listed terrorist organisation and there to be no consequence, of course we’ll see the sort of outcomes we’ve seen that has most recently culminated in the firebombing of a synagogue,” he said.

The Victorian Greens hit out at the “worrying anti-protest” laws, warning they could have a “chilling effect on democracy” and silence people.

Greens justice spokeswoman Katherine Copsey said peaceful protest played a “vital role in a healthy democracy”.

“In a rush to look like they’re doing something, the State Labor government has announced some very worrying anti-protest laws that seem designed to stop many peaceful demonstrations from going ahead and could ultimately silence important voices like survivors of child sexual abuse and social, environmental and peace activists,” she said.

“These laws risk massive overreach and this kind of policy on the run could lead to perverse outcomes and have a chilling effect on our democracy.”

Peter Dutton lashed out at the pro-Palestine protests on university campuses. Picture: Jason Edwards

“Now the Premier of Victoria says she needs to do something about it. Well, of course she does, and she should have done it 14 months ago. “I think Victorians at the moment are completely and utterly amazed at how bad the Labor government is in Victoria and they see the same traits, frankly, in Anthony Albanese.”

Federal Labor MP Josh Burns thanked the Victorian government for supporting the initiative and encouraged other state governments to ensure there’s national consistency. “I support the right to protest, however people need to be able to practice their faith safely and free from vilification and harassment,” Mr Burns said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler welcomed the reforms as an “important step” to address an explosion of antisemitism in Victoria.

“These reforms are not about curtailing freedom of speech; they’re about curtailing hate speech,” he said.

Zionism Victoria president Elyse Schachna said it was clear that Victorians “have had enough of their city being overtaken by often hostile and aggressive protesters”.

“People who want to protest about an issue should do so without their faces covered by a mask; this promotes transparency and accountability, and ensures that individuals stand by their actions and words,” she said.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich called the new laws and police powers a “giant leap toward a safer, stronger, and more united Victoria”.

“These measures are a game-changer in the fight against hate,” he said.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has slammed the announcement. Picture: Getty Images

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network slammed the announcement as a “dangerous attack on civil liberties”, accusing the Premier of fuelling “harmful narratives” that “silence public dissent”.

“Premier Allan’s rhetoric is not about safety or order – it is about suppressing community members’ democratic rights, and the growing movement for life, liberation and justice,” the group said.

“The Premier’s comments also stoke division and misrepresent the diversity of people, including members of the Jewish community, who stand in solidarity with Palestinians and demand an end to Israel’s genocide.

“By failing to take a clear stand against Israel’s genocide and apartheid, and by choosing to instead focus its rhetoric on stigmatising community members who remain steadfast in their demand for Palestinian justice, the Victorian government is perpetuating the divisions and oppressions being felt by our communities.

“The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network calls on the Victorian government to explicitly condemn and act to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza and commit to protecting – not curtailing – the right to protest. Anything less is complicity.”