Protests need our blessing, say police

Protests need our blessing, say police

www.smh.com.au

POLICE have told organisations planning to campaign during World Youth Day events they need to have placards, banners and T-shirts pre-approved or risk losing their protest "rights" - even those groups representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I just got off the phone to my son in Sydney. Who told me about this. I think most of my conversation I had is un printable here. Many (f, c, b words)
I’m boiling mad!!!! How dare they? Who the (f word) dose this guy think his is??? Oh yeah, I forgot he THINKS he’s god.
I am off to Sydney this month. I had planed to ignore the fuss of the pope. Now! I swear to god (the real god) I will GO OUT OF MY WAY TO NOT ONLY PROTEST THE POPE BUT TO PROTEST AGAINST THIS GAG ON PUBLIC OPTION I’m really so p#####d


www.smh.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 3/7/08 by iammonkey]

PRESS RELEASE 1ST JULY 2008

Opponents of the Pope's visit to Australia are requesting legal advice about the prospects of challenging the widely ridiculed "thou shalt not offend" laws, that will see people protesting the Pope's visit slapped with $5000 fines.

"Australia is supposed to be a democracy. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?" asked Rachel Evans from the NotoPope Coalition today.

"After the heavy handed APEC debacle, you'd think the NSW Government would at least accept public dissent to this tax payer funded religious circus, rather than try and silence it with this over the top approach. Only the most hardened right- wing conservatives would describe these laws as fair. Any reasonable Austalian would describe them as offensive and unjust", she noted.

"Part of being a Christian is accepting different points of view. Even the teachings of the Catholic Church uphold human rights, civil liberties and freedom of speech. This approach from the NSW government is straight from Emperor Nero's book," said Kristian Bolwell from the Coalition.

"Instead of trying to silence critics of the Pope's homophobic policies, Premier Iemma should be upholding the rights of the people of Sydney to have their say and to move freely around their own city," Bolwell said. “And what happens when people like me are offended by the Pope's visit?"


Members of the NoToPope Coalition will stand up for their rights and march, as planned, along the Mardi Gras route, and hand out condoms to young people at Moore Park. "We will protect our civil liberties, and help young people to protect their health, and no Pope or Premier will stop us" said Rachel Evans, spokesperson for the Coalition today.





[edit on 3/7/08 by iammonkey]

[edit on 3/7/08 by iammonkey]

What else do you expect from this country, most Australians just take what they are given and put up with it. They don’t stand up for themselves, and as such are loosing rights like this.

Mikey


[edit on 3/7/2008 by Mikey84]

Yeah I’m starting to think that as well. People enjoy still been Brest feed crap by their government. But then again we in oz do NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to free speech. It’s not in our constitution .So maybe that’s it? I would be interested in hearing from people in the u.s

just as an aside, do you know if this group also protests about Islamic preachers, given Islam's even heavier surpression of homosexuality?

At the risk of sticking my nose in where it has not been invited (a typically American behavior, I know) -

It's not just your country. It's happening everywhere it seems. Organized dissent is becoming illegal in phases. Protesters everywhere have recently been restricted and even legally threatened in ways that never were practiced before.

I suspect that it makes not a lick of difference from a local viewpoint. But on a larger scale, this trend of governments to restrict and control dissent might be more alarming, and more noteworthy than each individual state's citizens realize.

Add that to the monopolization of media, and consider; the more advanced knowledge is given regarding organized protests, the less likely it will be adequately covered by the media, the less exposure it has to the public at large, the less influence it has.

I hate the NWO mentality of culture and societal control, but is seems to fit a pattern that I don't want to see. It's like watching a barber cutting your hair and slowly messing it up, ending with haircut you didn't want.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by Maxmars]

I don’t know if this group protest against Islam that’s for another thread. My post wasn’t about homosexuality. This is not a gay argument. It is more to do with been gagged about anything you disagree with regards the pope. Victim’s of sexually abuse by the Catholic Church are been told they need approval to protest.
Birth control, Abortion, Divorce, The point is, No matter where you stand on these issues, at no time should we have to wait until we get permission to protest.
If I want to wear a t-shirt that reminds people that the church killed more people then Hitler, starling and moa all together, I think I should be able to and too bad, If it offend the pope or Catholics.
Pedophile in the church and brushing it under the carpet for so long offends me.
THIS IS NOT intended as an attack on you.
I’m just so angry.

Originally posted by iammonkey
I don’t know if this group protest against Islam that’s for another thread. My post wasn’t about homosexuality. This is not a gay argument. It is more to do with been gagged about anything you disagree with regards the pope. Victim’s of sexually abuse by the Catholic Church are been told they need approval to protest.
Birth control, Abortion, Divorce, The point is, No matter where you stand on these issues, at no time should we have to wait until we get permission to protest.
If I want to wear a t-shirt that reminds people that the church killed more people then Hitler, starling and moa all together, I think I should be able to and too bad, If it offend the pope or Catholics.
Pedophile in the church and brushing it under the carpet for so long offends me.
THIS IS NOT intended as an attack on you.
I’m just so angry.

hey dont get me wrong, I support this fundamental right to protest peacefully, was just hoping they apply it across the board

reply to post by blueorder


I think they are just anti pope. But i understand where your coming from.
All the best.



[edit on 3/7/08 by iammonkey]

Wasn't it mentioned in the article about the kid wearing the AntiChristian t-shirt that Australia doesn't actually have a bill of rights? If that's teh case, then I'd say the cops are breaking no laws here in so much as without any set in stone right to free speech, you indeed have no right to free speech at all.

reply to post by blueorder


Is there a "pope"(Or equivalent) of Islam? Just wondering . As if he/it never visited there . That may be why they never protested against it ?
But i'm not even sure if there is a central person like that for Islam .

It is sad that more people don't (seem to) care about this tho. If they don't have the right to do it . They better start a movement to get that right. Less they be forever under someones thumb.

[edit on 3-7-2008 by d11_m_na_c05]

Heres an answer to the rights of Austrailians from Wiki. You folks are screwed!!!
Zindo


Protection of rights
See also Australian constitutional law – Protection of rights
The Australian constitution does not include a Bill of Rights. Some delegates to the 1898 Constitutional Convention favoured a section similar to the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution, but the majority felt that the traditional rights and freedoms of British subjects were sufficiently guaranteed by the Parliamentary system and independent judiciary which the Constitution would create. As a result, the Australian Constitution has often been criticised for its scant protection of rights and freedoms.

Some express rights were, however, included:

Right to trial by jury – Section 80 creates a right to trial by jury for indictable offences against Commonwealth law. There are serious conceptual limitations to this right however, since the Commonwealth is free to make any offence, no matter how serious the punishment, triable otherwise than on indictment. As Justice Higgins said in R v Archdall & Roskruge; Ex parte Carrigan and Brown (1928) 41 CLR 128: "if there be an indictment, there must be a jury, but there is nothing to compel procedure by indictment". In practice, however, no major issue of abuse of this loophole has been raised.
Right to just compensation – Paragraph 51(xxxi) creates a right to just compensation for assets taken by the Commonwealth.
Right to freedom of religion – Section 116 creates a limited right to freedom of religion, by prohibiting the Commonwealth (but not the states) from "making any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion." This section is based on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but is weaker in operation. As the states retain all powers they had as colonies before federation, except for those explicitly given to the Commonwealth, this section does not affect the states' powers to legislate on religion, and, in accordance with High Court interpretations, no Federal legislation on religion, short of establishing an official religion of Australia, would be limited by it either.
Right to freedom from discrimination against out-of-State residents -Section 117 prohibits disability or discrimination in one state against the resident of another state. This is interpreted widely (Street v Queensland Bar Association), but does not prohibit states from imposing residential requirements where they are required by the State's autonomy and its responsibility to its people.
In 1992 and 1994, the High Court of Australia found that the Constitution contained an "implied" right to freedom of political communication, in a series of cases including the Australian Capital Television case and the Theophanous case. This was seen as a necessary part of the democratic system created by the Constitution. The application of this "implied right" has, however, been restricted in later cases, such as Lange v ABC. It is in no way equivalent to a freedom of speech, and only protects individuals against the government trying to limit their political communication: it offers no protection against other individuals.

In 2007, the High Court of Australia in Roach v Electoral Commissioner held that sections 7 and 24 of the Constitution, by providing that members of the House of Representatives and the Senate be "directly chosen by the people", created a limited right to vote. This entailed the guarantee of a universal franchise in principle, and limited the Federal Parliament's legislative power to modify that universal franchise. In the case, a legislative amendment to disqualify from voting all prisoners (as opposed to only those serving sentences of three years or more, as it was before the amendment) was struck down as contravening that right.

Other attempts to find other "implied rights" in High Court cases have not been successful.

Burdman30ott6, d11_m_na_co5, and zindodoone you are all very correct
It is not in our constitution. But you would be amazed how many people are not aware of this. I mean we have people protesting about all sorts of things in (other word we have it when it suits the politicians. They even mention our freedom of speech. And the ozzies swallow. Hook, Line and Sinker)

What gets under my skin is that protesters for the pope have to be giving the ok regarding the banners, t-shirts and placards. So as not to up set any one. (I would be this tick off if they gave this treatment to any other protest.)

And I think it’s sad, that many people do not seem to care. It’s like the boiling frog. People just take it. And will continue to do so, until some right /moral that THEY hold dear is stamped on. But by then it will be too late. I feel sick when I think of the thousands of men and woman who died for rights and freedom. And here we have people just sitting on their but handing it all back. Only to show up on Memorial Day. It a joke.

Thanks to every who cared, enough to post