From last night's adjournment debate in federal parliament. http://search.aph.gov.au/search/ParlInfo.ASP?action=view&item=67&from=browse&path=Chamber/House+Hansard/2000/Spring/5+October+2000&items=114 Title: ADJOURNMENT: World Economic Forum: Protests Date: 5 October 2000 Database: House Hansard Speaker: Quick, Harry, MP (Franklin, ALP) Page: 1 Proof: Yes Source: House Type: Speech Context: Adjournment Main Committee: No Mr QUICK (Franklin) (5.27 p.m.) --On the evening of Tuesday, 12 September 2000, my daughter and several of her friends, along with hundreds of others, gathered outside Crown Casino in Melbourne to peacefully demonstrate against the World Economic Forum meeting. The atmosphere among protesters was positive and non-violent. Into this peaceful scene at around 8 p.m. came riot police, armed with extra-long batons and wearing helmets and visors. They outnumbered protesters by two to one. The riot police charged the protesters, without warning or provocation. At no time during the many hours my daughter spent at the World Economic Forum protest did she see anyone throw objects at police or behave violently towards them. The police still charged. The officers--the overwhelming majority without identification--launched themselves at the crowd and began to relentlessly beat and punch the protesters with fists and batons, aiming for their heads and faces. Mounted officers then attacked from behind, forcing protesters forward into the line of police who were armed with batons. Protesters who were forced to the ground were trampled by horses, police and other protesters. Police lashed out at everyone in their path, beating many violently. Many protesters were trapped in the crush caused by the police, and attempts to escape were met with further violence. Police hit retreating protesters with batons. One friend of my daughter was hit repeatedly across his back and legs as he tried to escape the violence. Another was hit in the head by police trying to break up the protest and consequently suffered headaches and dizziness for days afterwards. Police were merciless and brutal in their treatment of the peaceful protesters. More frighteningly, the majority of officers who perpetrated this violence were not wearing identification. At the end of this charge, more than 30 demonstrators were hospitalised, and countless others suffered minor injuries as a result of the police baton charge. These injuries were not necessarily physical. Fortunately, my daughter was not assaulted--only manhandled by police--but she has been scarred by the experience, even now becoming upset when watching television footage of the charge. She is haunted by the sound of the boots of the riot police marching down to attack her. The shock of seeing one human being--an Australian--mercilessly beating another was a very depressing, disheartening and distressing experience for her. Any respect for the Victoria Police and its members has vanished. Not only is it the police that we have lost faith in but Steve Bracks, the Victorian Premier, described protesters as `fascists' and `un-Australian' and said they `deserve everything they got'. Is this a Labor Premier? Do he and I really share the same ideals? I am ashamed of him, and I am not alone. I condemn Bracks's endorsement of the police violence against protesters at the WEF. For Bracks to be uttering the same word--`un-Australian'--as Richard Court is a damning indictment of the Victorian Premier. Is this what ALP supporters in Victoria have fought so long for: the replacement of Jeff Kennett with `Jeff' Bracks? Bracks praised police for an `absolutely outstanding' job on 12 September. What part did he find outstanding? The unannounced baton charge? The failure of police to wear identification? The inability of protestors to identify police and hold them accountable for their actions? The response to alleged individual acts of violence by protestors with violence against the demonstration as a whole? Police were entitled to enforce the law by making arrests using only reasonable force, and they were duty-bound to use minimum force only. However, on 12 September, police were aiming not to arrest but rather to overcome through overwhelming force. As police attacked, my daughter heard them shout repeatedly to protestors, `You're going to get hurt. You're going to get hurt.' In contrast, protestors chanted, `No violence, no violence.' The role of the police force in our society is primarily to bring people before the courts so they can be judged and punished. Police have no right to dish out punishment themselves. Given that the Victorian Premier has endorsed violence against demonstrators, what are the implications for people's rights in Victoria? Will union members and workers be safe from police brutality the next time they are on a picket line? A citizen who is engaged in civil disobedience is a citizen nonetheless, and he or she is entitled to the protection of the law. Demonstrators outside the WEF had the right to protest and congregate in a public place without the fear of being beaten up. Importantly, they also had the right to be able to identify those police who assaulted them. In a democratic society, it is crucial that police, as an arm of government, are accountable. The behaviour of Steve Bracks and the Victorian parliamentary Labor Party over the last month has been a disgrace. The Victorian government must now fully support the independent inquiry into the police violence against protestors and return to the principles of democracy and accountability that got it elected last year. As protesters chanted throughout the three-day protest, `The whole world is watching.' -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
