The NSW Greens have written to the NSW Police Minister, Police Commissioner and Attorney General to voice great concern about the recent activities of NSW Police. It has been report over the last week, over 40 people across Australia have been visited, searched or questioned by police in relation to protests around the IMARC Conference in Sydney.  

This campaign of intimidation is a concerning development in the state of protest rights in NSW. Police are casting an increasingly wide web in attempting to prevent all protests that are not notified to police ahead of time. Treating such protests as illegal is a serious misuse of the law surrounding protest in NSW and is already creating an atmosphere of intimidation even for those participating in peaceful climate rallies.

It appears that, NSW Police, with the cooperation of police from Victoria, Queensland and the ACT and emboldened by the new anti-protest laws, are creating a culture of fear and control around protests that is at odds with the freedom of political expression and public assembly enshrined in Australian law.

For more informaiton, read the NSW Greens Letter.