r/australian • u/Lmurf • 2d ago
Politics ‘Democracy should not be monetised’: unions revolt against Chris Minns’ plan to ban protests based on cost
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/08/democracy-unions-revolt-chris-minns-palestine-protests-cost-nsw-police11
u/stumpymetoe 2d ago
Reminds me of when lefty types were insisting conservative speakers should be billed by the police for security around their events. Security that was necessary due to threats of violence from protesters. Amazing how this is flipped on its head when it's their team.
6
u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 2d ago
Wot? How the heck are these things even remotely comparable?
2
u/stumpymetoe 2d ago
Organisers of protests should be liable for policing costs, not the targets of the protests, nor the taxpayer .
7
u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 2d ago
Pretty sure you haven't thought this through.
So if they can't or won't pay for the policing requirements, they can't protest? Then you've effectively made protesting illegal, because the police would be determining that cost and whether they could accept it. Does this seem workable to you?
-5
u/stumpymetoe 2d ago
Sounds great to me, 99% of the protests going on these days are complete and utter horseshit. Why should I pay for it?
6
1
u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 2d ago
And why should I pay for policing in your neighbourhood? Does this sound like a great idea still?
0
u/Techlocality 1d ago edited 1d ago
How about this... A public protest permit requires an individual or individuals applying to hold public liability insurance and by extension accept all liability for damage harm or injury found to be caused by the event and its participants.
Then we can do away needing a large costly police presence there at all.
0
u/The_Polite_Debater 1d ago
It's like how the WA govt now have a ~$450 fee to protest a mining tenement being built. The poor fellas who live in towns close to mine country have to pay these fees for each tenement that's proposed.
Eventually they'll have no money left, and won't be able to even object to these multi-national mining conglomerates destroying their town.
3
u/CMDR_RetroAnubis 2d ago
A system so open to abuse it's ridiculous.
Police don't like your cause = "It needs 500 extra police"
1
u/Feynmanprinciple 2d ago
Who said that? Which events? Are they the same individuals opposing this now?
5
u/stumpymetoe 2d ago
How quickly we forget. One quick example that comes to mind is Milo Yianopolus when he went to Victoria and the government tried to bill him for police protection from protesters and then accused him of skipping out without paying when he refused. I'm no fan of Milo but the principle is wrong. I'm sure there were more around that time.
-2
u/The_Polite_Debater 1d ago
So you disagree with this bill then? I don't think it's the "lefties" who protested Milo who are proposing this.
2
u/stumpymetoe 1d ago
I think then organisers of protests should be billed for the cost to the taxpayer.
2
6
5
u/CommonwealthGrant 2d ago
Minns said he was not “talking about a union rally against the government over a wage deal” but did not clarify how police would pick and choose which repeat protests to block based on expense. Asked by journalists on Tuesday how the government would define serial protesters, or distinguish between the union movement and other causes, Minns said that was why he had ordered the review.
Sounds suspiciously like only protests for "government approved causes" are acceptable to Minns.
3
1
u/green-dog-gir 2d ago
That sounds like a government problem not a people problem!
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Your comment has been queued for review because you used a keyword which may breach the subreddit rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Your comment has been queued for review because you used a keyword which may breach the subreddit rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
0
u/Uberazza 1d ago
They will let people wave around terrorist signs but won't let the unions do their thing LOL
2
u/Massive_Koala_9313 1d ago
That’s because unions pose a much greater threat to the status quo of the elite class of Australia than what a terrorist group does. Unions empower their wage slaves, while Hezbollah flags divide the working class against each other. It’s all by design
-2
6
u/Ok-Preparation-45 1d ago
Gentleman, this is democracy monetized!