RANK-AND-FILE MEETING

12PM SUNDAY 21 AUGUST 

Earlier this year, NSW Parliament passed a bill which makes it a crime to participate in nonviolent protests. Police can now send protestors to jail for two years if they obstruct vehicles or pedestrians on any road that the Coalition Minister decides by regulation. Police can also fine individuals up to $22,000. 

You can now go to jail in NSW if you participate in the tactics that progressive activists have used to challenge political injustice. With Labor’s support, the NSW Coalition has criminalised tactics used by Civil Rights Activists during the Selma to Montgomery Marches, the anti-vietnam war movement, and the NSW Green Bans (to name just a few examples). For these reasons, human rights organisations and trade unions have widely condemned the Bill as an attack on the right to protest and the integrity of our democracy. 

We are convening an urgent mass-meeting of Labor branch members to oppose the criminalisation of protest. We need your help to overturn Labor’s support for the Bill at the upcoming NSW Labor Conference. 

MEETING DETAILS

DATE: 12PM - SUNDAY 21 AUGUST 

LOCATION: Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (1 Bedford Street, Newtown)

ONLINE ATTENDANCE: Yes - Branch members may observe the meeting and vote on the motion via ZOOM. 

RSVP AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETING

1. Hear from MPs, Trade Unionists, and Civil Liberties Activists about why NSW Labor must oppose this anti-protest legislation. 
2. Endorse a conference motion which will bind Labor MPs to repeal the anti-protest Bill if we form Government in NSW next year. 
3. Build a grassroots campaign to ensure that the NSW Labor Conference in October endorses the motion.  This motion will be debated at the NSW Labor Conference in October. 

SPEAKERS

		Paul Keating Secretary - MUA Sydney Branch
		Trish Doyle MP NSW Labor Member for the Blue Mountains
		Cameron Murphy AM President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (1999-2013)

CONFERENCE MOTION

The 2022 NSW Labor Conference notes with concern that:

1. On the 31st of March 2022 the NSW Government passed the Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (The Bill) with Labor’s support.
2. The Bill criminalised non-violent forms of protest that affect any road or infrastructure facility that the Minister decides by regulation.
3. The Bill means that any person that participates in non-violent protest can be sent to prison for 2 years and/or fined $22,000.
4. Civil liberties organisations have widely condemned The Bill on human rights grounds.
5. The Bill is a fundamental threat to our democracy and individual freedom.

The 2022 NSW Labor Conference therefore resolves that:

• NSW Labor commits to repealing The Bill if it forms government in 2023

RSVP (For both in-person and Zoom attendees)

Note: After you register using the facility below you will receive a confirmation email. This email includes a link to register for a zoom link if you cannot attend the event in-person and would like to join us remotely i.e. zoom attendees should first RSVP using the facility below and then register for a zoom link using the information provided in the confirmation email.