Victorian Coalition plan for protests to be registered, police powers to be beefed up
A new rally registration system under the control of police would be rolled out, with protest pests facing prison time, if the Coalition is elected at next year’s state election.
Victoria
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Serial protest pests who wreak havoc at unauthorised rallies would risk spending up to two years behind bars under a Battin-led government.
A new protest registration system, under the control of Victoria Police, would be rolled out and police powers would be beefed up, if the Coalition is elected next year.
The bid to crackdown on violent and extremist rallies follows several anti-Semitic incidents associated with pro-Palestine protests and traffic chaos caused by climate protesters.
Under the proposed NSW-style system, police command would be in charge of protest registrations, rather than local councils.
Organisers who register a protest and their attendees would be protected from offences such as obstruction and unlawful assembly.
However, those who fail to register a protest would run the risk of activists racking up a string of charges, and breaching strengthened move-on laws.
The upgraded laws, which were previously scrapped by former premier Daniel Andrews, would see protesters who refuse to move on and disperse at unregistered protests face arrest, on the spot.
Protesters who then breach a court order not to attend a particular location such as the CBD – known as an exclusion order – would face up to two years behind bars and fines of up to $22,000.
The registration system would also give police the intel to deploy resources appropriately ahead of time and re-route protesters away from particular sites, such as synagogues.
A similar system operates in a number of states, including NSW.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said Victorians were fed up with “chaos” on our streets.
“Whether its activists gluing themselves to the road at peak hour, protests shutting down the CBD, or the deeply disturbing anti-Semitic intimidation we’ve seen outside synagogues and businesses – Labor has completely lost control of the situation,” he said.
Mr Battin said the new party policy protected the right to protest and the right of Victorians to go about their lives without “fear, harassment or disruption”.
Opposition police spokesman David Southwick accused Labor of ignoring Victoria Police and letting protesters “hijack our streets, intimidate communities and waste thousands of frontline policing hours”.
“Disruptive or disorderly protesters who ignore police directives to move on will face up to two years jail,” he said.
“Victorians are rightly sick and tired of professional activists throwing their lives into chaos and not being held accountable for their behaviour.”
There have been 950 protests related to the conflict in the Middle East since 7 October 2023, resulting in 326 reports relating to anti-Semitism.
Under pressure to respond to a horror night of Jewish hatred on Friday night which saw an Israeli restaurant attacked and synagogue set on fire, the Allan government launched a new “anti-hate” task force.
The government is also consulting over proposed laws that would ban face coverings, glue and chains at protests to minimise disruptions.
Acting Premier Ben Carroll said protest permits were discussed during the group’s first meeting but stopped short of saying they were being considered, noting pro-Palestine protests were “by and large” peaceful.
“What we are dealing with is a fringe element that has decided to essentially be violent and intent on causing destruction, and we won’t stand for it,” he said.
Originally published as Victorian Coalition plan for protests to be registered, police powers to be beefed up
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