In Australia there is a growing trend to increase restrictions on the right to protest. After the firebomb attack on a Melbourne synagogue on the December 6, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for states to pass laws that the restrict the right to peacefully protest outside places deemed places of worship. In this article, I will explain the reasons why you should oppose such legislation.
The proposed legislation would fairly obviously limit the ability of people to peacefully protest. That is a restriction on freedom of expression. Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are important pillars of a free society. The exploitation of a violent and illegal act to ‘justify’ the banning of peaceful protest is both unconscionable and illogical.
One of the supposed ‘justifications’ for such legislation is the idea that the only reason anyone would want to protest at a place of worship is because they are hateful towards a certain religious group. This is simply not the case. There are many valid reasons why people may choose to protest outside a place of worship.
Limiting the ability of people to protest near the place of worship limits the ability to effectively protest
One example would be victims of historical sexual abuse at the hands of the church. Under the proposed legislation, protests held outside churches to protest historical child sex abuse would be illegal.
There are other grievances that people may have with religious institutions too. For example, some religious institutions promote antagonism towards certain groups, such as Jews or gay people, or promote controversial positions and practices such as gay conversion therapy.
Some places of worship are hotbeds of extremism and even promote extreme behaviour. Scientology, which is recognised as a religion in Australia, is controversial for other reasons. These are things that people may take issue with and may want to protest about.
In Australia there is a growing trend to increase restrictions on the right to protest.
Why is being able to protest directly outside places of worship so important? When critics of this legislation rightfully point out that such legislation restricts the right to protest, supporters will respond with statements such as ‘they can just protest in a park away from the place of worship’.
This is not a reasonable solution. Protesting near the people or institution means you are holding the institution or people directly accountable. The point of a protest is to get a point across; limiting the ability of people to protest near the place of worship limits the ability to effectively protest. Anyone who engages in violent or destructive acts can already be charged under current criminal legislation.
In some religions, spiritual leaders such as priests live on the property of the place of worship or at least very close by. Such legislation would make it significantly more difficult to peacefully protest against spiritual leaders who engage in wrongdoing. After all, freedom from protest is freedom from accountability.
Religious institutions wield political and social power and influence within society, and should be accountable. Many places of worship are located in prominent places due to the significant influence those religious institutions wielded in the past and still wield today.
Exclusion zones have the potential to limit the ability to protest in many other places . For example, as a resident of Adelaide, I know that Victoria Square is a popular protest location.
However, St Francis Xavier Cathedral is located right across from Victoria Square. Does this mean that if South Australia passes such legislation, it will become illegal to protest in Victoria Square or that protesting on certain political topics will be illegal in Victoria Square?
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Jessica Colby is a young libertarian advocate who has been passionate about political issues from an early age. She became involved in the Libertarian Party shortly after turning 18 and is now Treasurer of the South Australian branch.
