2023-03-15
Greens MP and Spokesperson for justice said “The successful appeal by Violet CoCo of her prison sentence is a victory and vindication that the laws used to imprison her are unjust and cruel.
“The personal costs borne by Violet and other peaceful activists like her are extreme.
“The cost to our democracy is now in full view and we should all be concerned.
“The NSW Coalition, in lockstep with Labor, created a moral panic in response to climate activist protests and rushed anti-protest laws through the Parliament. Moral panic in response to the fundamental right to protest is dangerous to democracy. It causes unrestrained police and magistrate behaviour and that is what we have experienced. It is straight from a criminology textbook, it is dangerous and it is not the mark of a mature democracy.
“The Greens will challenge the next Parliament to review and repeal these anti-protest laws and to ensure that members of the community who engage in peaceful protest and nonviolent civil disobedience are not sentenced to prison terms.”
For further comment please contact Dan Reid: 0421 926 233