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Restrictions on protest rights ‘concerning’, human rights lawyers say
The decision to lockdown Melbourne’s CBD to prevent anti-restriction protests, which includes pausing public transport for seven hours and constructing traffic blockades, has been met with concern from Australian human rights lawyers.
Naomi Neilson
To prevent people from gathering for a planned protest against the COVID-19 lockdowns, Victoria Police will shut down the Melbourne CBD on Saturday, 18 September between 8am and 2pm by pausing public transport, creating traffic blockades, cordoning off the city, and exercising the use of search powers.
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Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton told media that they “will be doing everything we can to prevent access to the city” to avert a “super-spreader event”. He added that the upcoming police effort to stop the protest from taking place would be one of the largest operations they had run in years with up to 2,000 officers.
Responding to the lockdown decision, Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) said that given the COVID cases and vaccination rates, the current ban on large public protest gatherings is “justified”, but indicated that the government’s response to protests during the pandemic has continually undermined protest rights.
“The COVID-19 pandemic must not be used as a gateway to impose lasting restrictions on protest rights. Any restrictions on public protest in this pandemic should be time-limited, constantly reviewed against health risks and no wider than necessary,” HRLC said in a statement.
The Law Centre is calling on the Victorian government and police force to be transparent about its justification for using “extreme measures”, including the reasons that a planned event is deemed a risk and why less restrictive options cannot be used. It has also reinforced the message that police should not stop and search people without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.
HRLC added that the reported measures to prevent the protest are concerning because of the impact that they will have on people who live or need to travel into the area for work or to obtain essential goods or services. Victoria Police said they would be making an announcement shortly for essential travellers.
“Democracy doesn’t stop in a pandemic, and people’s right to protest is an important part of a healthy democracy. Protecting public health in this pandemic justifies some restrictions on public protest gathering, but any restrictions must use the least restrictive means to protect health and should be regularly reviewed against current health risks to ensure they are no wider than strictly necessary.”
