Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Bill

Tasmanian Residents draw to the attention of the House the Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Bill. Your petitioners are concerned that the Bill: 1. harshly punishes free speech and peaceful assembly on public streets and other public places; 2. may contravene the implied right to political communication in the Australian Constitution; 3. proposes the creation of mandatory minimum prison sentences, which do not currently exist in Tasmania, diminishing the separation of powers and the important checks and balances provided by independent courts; 4. will lead to unjust outcomes in individual cases because the court is prevented from tailoring the sentence to meet the facts of the particular case; 5. duplicates existing laws, including trespass and public nuisance, which manage to govern protest activity in a way that raises none of the above concerns; 6. was drafted in the absence of any formal public consultation process with the legal profession and other expert or interested groups. your petitioners, therefore, request that the House vote against the Bill.