The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has joined forces with 40 other advocacy and civil society organisations to send an open letter to Premier Chris Minns MP, demanding that he respect democratic process and conduct a public inquiry in the draconian NSW Anti-Protest Laws. Sign our Petition calling for an open and transarent reivew of these laws here.

To Premier Chris Minns, Attorney General Michael Daley and the Hon. John Graham:

We the undersigned call on you to address the vital issue of protecting the right to protest in our state. The right to protest is a fundamental democratic right that allows us to express our views, shape our societies, and press for social change. In NSW and nationally across Australia, it is under attack.

Two years on from the introduction of the draconian 2022 anti-protest laws, these laws are creating a chilling effect on civil movements and social progress. The barriers for a diverse range of groups to participate in protest action have been raised to an unattainable height due to risk of police interaction and escalated police violence, especially for groups such as First Nations people and individuals on temporary visas.

The review of these laws is scheduled to take place after 1 April 2024 and will be carried out by the Department of Roads and the Attorney-General’s Department. We call for the repeal of these anti-democratic laws - barring repeal, we call on you to ensure that this review will seek public submissions and be undertaken in a clear and transparent manner.

It is essential that members of the community, civil society organisations, legal experts, protesters and protest movements and other stakeholders are given the opportunity to publicly explain the grassroots impacts of these laws. We call on the government to commit to introducing a community consultation component into the statutory review of the 2022 amendments.

We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you regarding the conduct of the legislative review and the opportunity for community consultation on the issue.

Signed,

In April 2022, the NSW Parliament passed legislation to prevent ‘illegal protesting’ on major roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport and infrastructure facilities. The new legislation amends section 144G the Roads Act 1993 which criminalises causing serious disruption by entering, remaining on or trespassing on prescribed major bridges and tunnels, to now include all “main roads”. Offences carry a maximum penalty of $22,000 or two years in gaol, or both.

NSWCCL condemns these legislative changes in totality. Protest should not be confined to back roads.  We especially condemn the lack of proportionality of the punishment that can be imposed for offences committed by protesters. 

The review of these laws is scheduled to take place after 1 April 2024 and should consider the views of all stakelholders and community. Join us in the call for an open and transparent review!

We write as leading civil society organisations, reflecting a broad and diverse membership across Australia, to express our deep concern and disappointment regarding the recent introduction of the Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024.  

We are particularly troubled by the objectives apparently underpinning the legislation, including exclusion of entire nations from migration to Australia, further criminalisation and exposure to imprisonment and detention of people seeking safety in Australia, and circumvention of the impact of a prospective High Court decision regarding unlawful administrative detention.

Dear Attorney-General,

Freedom of information reform is long overdue.

We write to urge the Government to act on the recommendations made in the recent report of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s inquiry into the operation of the Commonwealth Freedom of Information (‘FOI’) laws.

As you will be aware, the Committee unanimously acknowledged the need for urgent reform to the FOI system. The Committee’s report describes a highly dysfunctional, under-resourced FOI regime, citing multi-year delays, excessive use of exemptions, problematic interpretations of FOI laws, prohibitive expenses, and cultural issues within the Australian Public Service (‘APS’) and at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (‘OAIC’).

While in opposition, Labor rightly decried a culture of secrecy and impunity that thrived under the Morrison Government. Now in government, your department has taken positive steps toward remedying this, including establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission and introducing legislation to establish the new Administrative Review Tribunal.

While we welcome these reforms, we note that the Albanese Government has continued to under-resource and under-prioritise the reform of FOI— a core transparency function, vital for restoring integrity and public trust in government.

The recommendations contained in the Senate Committee’s report represent a comprehensive, actionable blueprint for reform, and an opportunity for the Albanese Government to demonstrate its election commitment to open government and a strong democracy.

We understand that there are approximately 64 refugees remaining in Papua New Guinea, people we put there and have seemingly forgotten. 

We believe that to say that Australia has fully complied with the mutually agreed arrangement to support PNG’s independent management of people remaining in PNG is meaningless if it is not backed up with actual information about the welfare of this group.

Australia has an obligation to the people who remain in PNG. To believe otherwise would be dishonest and a failure of leadership, after all, we sent them there in the first place.

We think the Department of Home Affairs conduct towards the refugees from Palestine who have had their visas cancelled is outrageous. Not only does conduct like this undermine public confidence in the Department, the Government and the entire immigration process, it further punishes a group of traumatised people how have been through the most horrendous imaginable ordeal. We wrote to the Minister to ask why?

The Hon. Michael Daley
Attorney General

The Hon. Yasmin Catley
Minister for Police

Commissioner Karen Webb APM

All via webform

Dear Ministers and Commissioner,

RE: NSW Policing and the queer community

We write on behalf of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) to express concern about the alleged murder of a gay couple by a serving NSW Police Officer. This tragic case ought to cause you to pause and consider if the settings around policing in NSW are appropriately calibrated, especially in relation to the queer community. In our view, they are not and your urgent attention is required.

Open Letter to the Police Commissioner from Lydia Shelly

I write in my capacity as the President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (the Council), one of Australia’s leading human rights and civil liberties organisations. This is an open letter addressing concerns about the treatment of independent Legal Observers by the New South Wales Police (NSW Police) during a recent climate change protest in Newcastle.

The Council, founded in 1963, is a non-political, non-religious, and non-sectarian organisation dedicated to championing the rights of all to express their views and beliefs without suppression. We hold Non-Government Organisation status in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, as per resolution 2006/221 (21 July 2006).

At the climate change protest on Sunday, November 26, 2023, in Newcastle, several Legal Observers were charged for activities that were within their role as Legal Observers. These individuals were easily identifiable by wearing pink high-visibility jackets with "Legal Observers" written across the vest in large black letters. Furthermore, the arrested Legal Observers informed the police of their independent role and function at the protest.

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

16 November 2023

Dear Prime Minister,

We write as Presidents of Australia’s leading, membership based human rights and civil society organisations, about the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We are non-political, non-religious and non-sectarian.

Since October 7, 2023, Australians have witnessed over 12,520 people die in the ongoing conflict in Palestine (including the Israeli civilians), with approximately 11,320 of these deaths caused by Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Alarmingly, an estimated 40% of these deaths have been children.

There is no safe place for children in Gaza to seek shelter. Schools, refugee camps, places of worship and hospitals have been hit by bombs. Thousands of children remain missing as entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed. The number of child deaths have exceeded the number of children who have died in all global conflict zones since 2019. 

Today NSWCCL President, Josh Pallas wrote to University of Sydney Vice Chancellor, Professor Mark Scott to urge Professor Scott to reconsider the reported suspension of two students, Maddie Clarke and Deaglan Godwin, who protested at a University of Sydney University Law Student’s Society event in September 2022.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) considers the reported half-year suspensions of these two students to be excessive and disproportionate. We asked USYD to immediately reverse these suspensions. 

Student protests against invited speakers on campus have a long history and occur in the spirit of academic freedom and the free flow of ideas in educational institutions.  Such speeches and student protests are often controversial but are essential to the interplay between university management and the student body within a community which is meant to foster free thought and thinking.

Prominent members of our society, including the current Prime Minister of Australia, participated as students in disruptive protests on campus.