Letter

In response to What are police allowed to do at protests and who keeps them in check?

Anti-protest policing is not so benign

This article paints an inaccurately benign picture of the policing of protest in Australia in 2025.

In recent years, all state governments have enacted legislation which criminalises many protest actions, with possible penalties including lengthy jail sentences and hefty fines. Armed with these new laws, and goaded by reactionary government officials and screaming tabloid headlines, police command has not hesitated to invoke these laws. Climate activists and pro-Palestine protesters, in particular, have been targeted.

The “Disrupt Land Forces” protests in Melbourne in September last year marked a particularly low point. Despite many episodes of grossly excessive use of force by police, who appeared primed for confrontation rather than de-escalation, it is protesters who have been pursued relentlessly by the policing and judicial systems. No action has been taken against any police officers involved.

My own complaint of being assaulted, without provocation, by police has so far received no response from the VicPol internal investigations unit; even a FoI request for details of its progress will take “an average 35 weeks” for a response. So much for the “different ways police can be held accountable”.

In 2025, Bob Brown’s successful Franklin River blockade would be policed and jailed to a standstill.

Richard Barnes from Melbourne