Victorian Premier proposes laws to protect people at places of worship

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Protests will be banned outside places of worship under new laws proposed by the Victorian government. It comes just over a week after the terrorist firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne.

Transcript

00:00Well, the Victorian government has announced tough new measures to crack down on what it

00:06describes as extreme and radical protests that comes after that suspected terror attack

00:12on the Adas Israel synagogue, as well as other anti-Semitic incidents.

00:16Now a lot of these measures are to do with giving police more powers against protesters.

00:21So include things like banning the use of face masks and balaclavas by protesters who

00:26are seeking to conceal their identity, banning the use of glue, ropes and chains by protesters

00:32who have previously physically attached themselves to public spaces, as well as banning the flags

00:38and symbols of listed terrorist organisations in public.

00:42Now the Victorian government specifically cited groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and some

00:47right-wing extremist groups with these measures to build on existing laws already outlawing

00:52the Nazi symbol.

00:54Now beyond that, the government also confirmed today that it would be looking to ban protests

00:58outside places of worship.

01:00Now it will involve establishing safe access zones around places like churches, synagogues

01:05and temples, not to dissimilarly from the way there are exclusion zones around abortion

01:10centres, though the government did concede that this is a very complex matter and that

01:14further consultation will be needed to decide the scope and size of these safe access zones.

01:20In making these announcements today, the Premier, Jacinta Allen, said that the right

01:24to protest is important, but it shouldn't trump the safety of Victorians.

01:29Peaceful protests can and must be protected in this state.

01:34Protests that harm others cannot.

01:37Victorians have witnessed extreme, dangerous and radical conduct in numerous public demonstrations

01:42over the past year.

01:44And it would be wrong for me to say that everyone who's attending these protests is anti-Semitic.

01:49There's no one saying that.

01:50But we know some are, and we know some are showing that.

01:54We also know that hate and anti-Semitism are thriving in these environments.

02:00And Leanne, what other measures is the government proposing?

02:04Well some of these other measures are specifically to do with bolstering social cohesion, which

02:08the Premier said had clearly deteriorated in recent months.

02:12So one of the things that the government is looking at doing is introducing a social cohesion

02:16pledge that multicultural organisations will have to abide by in order to access government

02:22grants and funding.

02:24The government says there will be consequences if those groups don't abide by that pledge.

02:29They've also said that they will organise a new body called the Local Escalation and

02:33Help Group.

02:35So local organisations can liaise directly with the government in relation to matters

02:39concerning anti-Semitism and racism.

02:42These bodies will include representatives from local council, Jewish and community groups.

02:47And what's been the reaction to these announcements?

02:50Well the reaction has certainly been mixed.

02:52So we've heard from Naomi Levin from the Jewish Community Council of Victoria who welcomes

02:58the changes, saying that she's cautiously optimistic that it's been a really good start.

03:03However we've also heard from some legal and civil liberty experts who raise concerns that

03:08some of these changes will impinge on the rights of Victorians to protest.

03:12So one expert called this a permit process by stealth.

03:17So unlike New South Wales and other jurisdictions, currently Victorian protesters don't need

03:21to apply for a permit if they'd like to protest.

03:24Other legal experts have also urged caution in giving police greater powers.

03:29So they've said that these measures will have far-reaching consequences beyond this recent

03:34escalation in tensions.

03:35We've seen in the community, specifically in relation to the conflict in Gaza, that

03:39these laws, if introduced, will be around for the long haul.

03:44We've also heard from Nasser Mashni from the Australia-Palestine Advocacy Network who says

03:49that the government can't legislate itself to social cohesion, particularly when they

03:54say that they've been left out of this conversation.

03:57It shows the Premier has really committed to listening to our community and what we've

04:02been calling for in terms of measures to keep us safe.

04:06But this isn't just about the Jewish community, this is about all Australians.

04:10What's happened to us this week has happened to all Australians.

04:13We don't want to see a society where places of worship come under attack from terrorists.

04:20We all want to live peacefully and just go about our lives in a safe way.

04:25It's a knee-jerk response to appease a section of our community.

04:29What needs to be happening, we need to be talking to everyone.

04:32We are the Australian-Palestinian community, just as Australian-Victorian-Melbournian as

04:37anybody else.

04:38We need to be included in the conversations and we've been excluded from those.

04:43This proposed legislation will need to pass Parliament in order to come into effect.

04:47Victorian Parliament is currently on a break, meaning that this process won't properly get

04:51underway until next year.

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