The Minns government has announced its intention to impose harsher penalties on protests and peaceful demonstrations near railways, labelling such actions as “irresponsible and disruptive.”

Under new legislation to be introduced this week, the penalties for obstructing a railway would be doubled. The offence would carry a maximum fine of $22,000, up to two years’ imprisonment, or both.

Premier Chris Minns stated that the increased penalties are intended to deter such actions. “Protests on railway lines are seriously dangerous and disruptive, and they are not tolerated in NSW,” he said. “Train drivers, passengers travelling to work, and companies going about their business should not have to contend with protesters on the tracks – it’s that simple.”

This proposal is the latest in a series of anti-protest measures introduced or expanded under the Minns government, which has taken significant steps to restrict legal protest activities.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties have condemned the new laws as “draconian”.

“We remind all those elected to parliament that they have a sacred obligation to uphold democratic principles; including what they may consider “politically inconvenient” civil liberties and human rights, that make our country a liberal democracy. What we have seen under the Minns Government is the “white-anting” of civil liberties and human rights from within,” said President of NSWCCL, Timothy Roberts.

“We are living in extraordinary times. Our democracy will not irrevocably be damaged in one foul swoop – it will be a slow bleed, a death by a thousand tranches of repressive legislation being cemented together by populist narratives that seek to demonise and polarise”.

Roberts went on to say that the introduction of this legislation was undoing decades of work from campaigners who fought for a more inclusive and democratic community.

“What a shameful legacy to leave behind for the people of NSW.”

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