State Opposition seeks to bring back Victoria’s move-on laws to target protesters
In the wake of several protests that have caused chaos in Melbourne’s CBD, the state Opposition is seeking to introduce a Bill to give police tougher powers to break up disruptive demonstrations.
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Police would be given tougher powers to break up disruptive protests under a state Opposition plan to reinstate Victoria’s move-on laws.
In the wake of several protests that have caused chaos in Melbourne’s CBD, the Opposition will today seek to introduce a private member’s Bill in state parliament to strengthen the powers available to police.
Under the changes, police would be able to move on protesters if they were unduly obstructing traffic or stopping people entering or exiting a building. Anyone in breach of a move-on order could also be arrested.
The proposal, which the government is expected to block, would also include new exclusion orders that police could seek through the courts to prevent protesters returning to demonstrations.
Contravening an exclusion order would be punishable by a two-year jail term.
The state government repealed the move-on laws in 2015, arguing they were “draconian” and unnecessary for police responding to protests, with officers already able to direct people to leave a public place if they were likely to breach the peace or were endangering the safety of other people or property.
But Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said the repeal had left officers “without the tools they need to promptly and effectively break up dangerous protests”.
“Everyone has the right to protest but no one has the right to hold up others or the city to ransom,” he said.
“Labor’s slap-on-the-wrist punishments are a green light to those who want to disrupt the daily lives of others and place the community’s safety at risk.”
He said the Opposition’s changes would “balance the right of all Victorians to peaceful protest, with the interests of the general public and the good order of our community”.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said this month that protesters who had disrupted the International Mining and Resources Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre were experienced and had “gone through a number of protests”.
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She said that “in lots of cases”, police had managed to get bail conditions to restrict their activities at future protests.
“Police were aware of that and were using that to try and keep them away,” she told 3AW.
More than 100 people were arrested at the IMARC protests, including one from New South Wales who was arrested twice in two days.