For nearly six months, a group of peaceful protestors have maintained a vigil outside Anthony Albanese’s electorate office in Marrickville. The vigil is noteworthy in that the organisers, their families and attendees are diverse in their religious beliefs and cultural heritage. Importantly, the organisers and many of the protestors live in the local electorate of Grayndler.

Six months on, they are still seeking a meeting with their local member of parliament to discuss Australia’s obligation in preventing the further suffering of Palestinians which includes forced starvation, mass displacement and the unprecedented violence in Occupied Territories of Palestine and Gaza.

Unfortunately, Mr Albanese has refused to meet with his constituents. Yesterday, Mr Albanese’s office issued a letter to the peaceful protestors, demanding that the peaceful vigil be conducted elsewhere.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties wrote to the Prime Minister in April urging him to meet with his constituents. We recognise this vigil as a legitimate exercise of democratic freedoms available in Australia. To date, no response has been received.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties position is unequivocal - the democratic rights of peaceful protestors must be protected and the Prime Minister has an obligation not only to uphold the right to protest, but to meet with his constituents.

We will always defend the right to protest and the protestors who choose to exercise this right.

Comments from Lydia Shelly, President, NSW Council for Civil Liberties

“The Council can only imagine the anguish, grief and sense of helplessness felt by Australians who have loved ones trapped in the Occupied Territories of Palestine and Gaza.

Connecting with our elected members of parliament is a powerful advocacy tool all Australians should be able to exercise equally. In a healthy democracy, every Australian should be able to meet with their local MP to air concerns and take action on the issues they care most about. This is one of the foundations of representative government.

Our democracy functions best when citizens are engaged beyond the ballot box.

Mr Albanese has shown a tremendous lack of empathy towards his constituents by not granting them a simple meeting.

The Labor movement proudly stands on the shoulders of the brave men and women who have joined pickets, held vigils and remained steadfast in their fight against injustice and exploitation. Many of these pickets have actively sought that people not cross the line, but rather, to hold the line.

This vigil has not intimidated anyone or prevented access to Mr. Albanese’s office. There has been no breaches of the peace. The only goal of the peaceful protestors has been to communicate directly with their MP, as their electoral representative, their views in relation to the events in Gaza and how they affect people in Australia.

We urge Mr Albanese to remember the winter of 1983 when he was amongst a group of protestors who occupied the clocktower in the Sydney University quadrangle in a protest action against the Economics Department.  On 15 June 1983, students entered and occupied the clock tower in the University Quadrangle. Damage, estimated by the university authorities at $96, was done to the hands of the clock^[1]. Mr Albanese (pictured in the far left) joined his fellow protestors to occupy the clocktower and to disrupt faculty meetings. He was subject to disciplinary proceedings from the university as a result.

Mr Albanese, through his office, yesterday issued a notice to vigil participants to conduct their peaceful vigil, which is non-violent and has caused no damage, elsewhere. The notice and the attitude towards the protestors is undemocratic and frankly, cruel.

The issuing of the notice to the protestors betrays the foundation of the Australian Labor Party. Former Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, spoke about what the ALP stood for at the NSW ALP Conference in 1949:

 “....We have a great objective – the light on the hill – which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand. If it were not for that, the Labour movement would not be worth fighting for”

In refusing to meet with his constituents, who are feeling anguish, grief and helplessness, many Australians are left to ask what is left worth fighting for?”

^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Stilwell_(economist)