2024-11-12
The NSW Labor Government has signalled their intent to further crackdown on the right to protest this week with a new bill to drastically increase penalties for protest actions on railways.
The amendment to the Crimes Act will prescribe a fine of up to 2 years imprisonment or a fine of $22,000 for obstructing a railway. This is a doubling of the current penalties on the books.
Lines attributable to Kobi Shetty MP and NSW Greens Spokesperson on Democracy
“This is another shameful attack on the right to protest from the NSW Labor Government. This is a knee-jerk response and little to no information has been provided to the crossbench on the justification for these severe penalties. It is a targeted attack intended to silence the voices of people concerned about the government’s woeful inaction on the climate crisis.
“The government is doubling down on their anti-protest laws despite the fact they have still failed to release the findings of the review into these laws which was meant to be tabled in October.
"The so-called review of anti-protest laws has been exposed as a sham. This government has no intention of tabling its findings or repealing laws that the Supreme Court has found partially unconstitutional. Instead, they are expanding undemocratic laws to limit our fundamental right to protest.
“I have introduced a Greens Bill to repeal these draconian anti-protest laws and will be encouraging the government to support this legislation. We cannot allow further attacks on our fundamental right to protest.