Post at The Saturday Paper, 13 October 2022:
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Knitting Nannas unpick anti-protest laws
Two members of the Knitting Nannas will challenge the NSW government’s anti-protest laws in court, as climate activists explore avenues for action with “less punitive” consequences.
What we know:
The Environmental Defenders Office will file the legal challenge on behalf of the two activists, who live in fire and flood-affected parts of the NSW far north coast (The Guardian);
The two women have concerns about the controversial laws introduced in March that allow fines of $22,000 and two years in prison to punish non-violent protesters;
They will argue that making it illegal to protest on major roads, tunnels and “near” prescribed facilities unlawfully impinges on the freedom to protest;
“When it comes to protest rights … it can be a death by a thousand cuts. We have to fight to preserve that right, ” said David Morris of the Environmental Defenders Office;
The legal challenge comes as the union movement pushes NSW Labor to commit to reversing the laws if elected in March (Sydney Criminal Lawyers);…….
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| Environmental Defenders Office spokesperson announcing legal challenge on 13.10.22, accompanied by Knitting Nannas Helen Kvelde and Dominique Jacobs. IMAGE: @jatremain |
‘For these two women protest became an essential form of political expression to sound the alarm about the impacts of climate change. “Our communities have felt terrified, angry and stressed. Protest can transform those overwhelming feelings into change and action,” Dominique said. “We will ask the Court to find that aspects of these new laws are unconstitutional. Australians like us shouldn’t have to risk imprisonment or bankruptcy to participate in our democracy, and the Government should not be taking away our democratic freedoms.”’ [Environmental Defenders Office, October 2022]
