2025-07-04
Defamation Concerns Notices have been sent to Federal Minister Tony Bourke and Sky News today on behalf of a community member who was seriously injured in Belmore last Friday and following comments made by Minister Bourke on Sky News that disregarded legal due process.
Greens MP and Spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said “The harmful rhetoric that has been promoted by NSW Labor politicians in recent times is frightening. The fact that a Federal Labor Minister would imply that peaceful protestors are acting unlawfully, or that serious injury is an acceptable outcome when dealing with the police, is deeply disturbing,”
“There is a legal process that must be followed for the charges that have been brought by the Police against a person whose arrest resulted in serious injuries. Only the criminal justice system and those who understand it and are part of it get to decide whether that person is guilty,”
“It’s bad enough that the erosion of the right to protest in NSW has been continued under Premier Chris Minns, but that a Federal Labor Minister would now set out to pre-judge a member of the community, who has every right to the presumption of innocence, is another shocking reminder of why the police in NSW think they can assault people with impunity,”
“What we have seen in the public domain has already shown that there is an incoherence between Labor Premier Chris Minns’ comments and the allegations by the NSW Police against the community members who were arrested at Belmore last week. This confusion sets out the clearly tenuous grounds that the police relied on when breaking up and punishing that peaceful community gathering,”
“When powerful men stand in front of media cameras and justify state violence against the community, we are living in disturbing times. Twice now, in just a few days, Labor leaders in NSW have indicated that members of the community who lawfully stand up in the community should expect what they get. This has to stop, and these men must retract their harmful statements,” Ms Higginson said.
For media contact Sue Higginson on 0428 227 363