Annastacia Palaszczuk rushes anti-protest laws
Annastacia Palaszczuk is fast-tracking a legal crackdown on protesters.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is fast-tracking a legal crackdown on protesters but concedes an “absolutely ridiculous” activist who chained himself to city train tracks could not have been punished under the proposed laws.
The Labor government’s attempt to rush through the legislation, which targets the use of certain devices that “lock” protesters on to public infrastructure, has been criticised by Queensland Greens MP Michael Berkman as reviving the draconian tactics of former Nationals premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
On Wednesday, a man chained himself to train tracks at Bowen Hills, in inner Brisbane, stopping public transport; on Tuesday, 49-year-old Paul David Jukes suspended himself from the Story Bridge for six hours.
Both acts were part of climate change activists Extinction Rebellion’s week of “international rebellion” that Ms Palaszczuk cited as driving her decision to fast-track the laws, which would see perpetrators potentially face years in jail or fines up to $6000.
She and Police Minister Mark Ryan said both acts would likely fall outside the scope of the legislation, which deals solely with activists who use devices such as “sleeping dragons”, “dragons’ dens” and “tripods” to block traffic and the entrances to businesses.
There are existing laws to deal with the offences allegedly committed by the week’s offenders.
“If you are using one of these dangerous devices, and you are putting dangerous shrapnel inside that device, and you are going to have an emergency services personnel come and cut you free and injure themselves, that is completely unacceptable,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Sleeping dragons are steel tubes in which protesters put their arms and connect themselves to a piece of mining equipment or public infrastructure.
The laws would give police powers to search protesters without a warrant if they suspected people had the devices and would use them to cause destruction.
The swift timeline means a public hearing on Friday, and the committee’s report will need to be done within a week, instead of by November.
Parliament will debate and vote on the legislation by the end of the month, instead of early next year.
Committee chairman and Labor backbencher Peter Russo said the fast-tracked timeline would be a “small challenge” but achievable.
LNP Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander said Labor’s proposed laws would not work to stop protesters, while Mr Berkman said the government was impinging on protesters’ rights and “trashing” parliamentary processes.
“The laws … are genuinely reminiscent of the way the Joh government silenced dissent and shut down protest, and now they’re taking the next important step from the Joh playbook and trashing parliamentary process at the same time,” he said.
Mr Jukes appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on one charge of unregulated high-risk activity and was bailed.
The man who chained himself to the train tracks was charged with endangering safety.
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