Commenting on the story: Protest against anti-protest laws

Given the list of those opposing this legislation, it gives me great comfort that it is correct to proceed with it.

I believe every one should have the right to demonstrate, but not at the cost of the community and in particular people’s safety.

To call it populist legislation only confirms the majority will back it, and so they should. – Paul Martin

History is not just about telling stories – it is about changing values and perceptions and the pursuit of truth, even when it is uncomfortable.

History provides us with insight, and it allows us to reflect on the past not for nostalgia, but to serve as a warning for our own time. Be warned, because in South Australia we are not only seeing the plundering of our built and cultural heritage – First Nation and European – but our parliament has cynically introduced draconian legislation to silence the voices of dissent.

History is not a benign event or an exercise in good feel marketing, it is about truth and agency. Ironic isn’t it, that in History Month 2023 the South Australian Parliament has introduced draconian legislation that compromises our civil liberties.

‘The State’s Summary Offences Act amendment applies to anyone who intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct that obstructs the free passage of a public place and means that persons would be liable to jail time of up to three months, or a $50,000 maximum financial penalty’.

Under this act, the mothers and fathers, the sons and daughters, the grandmothers and others who marched as ‘Save Our Sons’ in 1969 along O’Connell Street, North Adelaide, protesting Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War and conscription could have found themselves in gaol.

In the 1970s, thousands of protesters once risked the batons and brutality of Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s police force following his ban on street marches over issues as diverse as the Vietnam War, the Springbok rugby tour, Aboriginal land rights, nuclear disarmament, conservation of the Daintree Forest and the simple right to protest.

Yes, these people ‘obstructed the free passage to a public place’ and thank God they did. – Denise Schumann 

Commenting on the opinion piece: Community impact of kneejerk lawmaking

Well said, Sarah Moulds. Bad laws will almost always arise in circumstances where our Parliament doesn’t take time to consider them carefully and to listen to their citizens.

And despite any other intent by the Premier or the Leader of the Opposition, in this instance imposing harsher penalties is actually likely to result in more, and potentially more risky, protests. If people are being punished and not heard, we will drive them to become more desperate, despairing and angry.

More importantly protests about such fundamental issues like climate change, violence against women, human rights, labour laws, and racial injustice won’t halt, and nor should they, until our Parliaments move to take decisive action. – Ross Womersley

Commenting on the story: Rushed SA protest penalties ‘an assault on our democracy’

It seems to me like the Opposition were seizing a populist political opportunity to show the delegates of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association national conference in Adelaide that they are on their side while the conference was still in session, which in turn was swiftly picked up the Premier to opportunistically claim the credit whilst commuters were caught up in traffic for swiftly dealing with those pesky protesters.

Was it really necessary for the police to entirely block off the bridge completely rather than allow traffic to continue to pass through in one less lane? Will the legislative bar for ‘reasonable protest’ be set at such a level that protestors can bring no media attention to their cause, thereby rendering their protests ineffectual?

Perfect politics, you are allowed to protest so long as your protests don’t change anything, like the government in Tasmania, lest I say Russian and China. – Sandy Wilkinson

It is our tragedy to have in power now and for some time past, people who invoke science and ‘evidence-based reasoning’ only when it suits them. On climate change to date, the Premier has not yet walked the walk. It will soon be too late.

When I voted for the ALP, I did not expect that they would rush through extreme legislation such as the very right wing Tories have done in the UK to stifle those who through their disruptions tell us that our urgent mission now is to deal with catastrophic climate change.

Protests that can be readily ignored don’t cut it, it should be in our face every day, a constant, inconvenient reminder. I’m way too cowardly to join these people, but I am grateful they are there. – Cathy Chua