Letter to Victorian Premier and Attorney General calling for ban on dangerous police weapons at protests

12 September 2024

Dear Premier and Attorney General,

We, the undersigned organisations, call on the Victorian Government to ban the use of dangerous police weapons in policing protests and ensure that Victoria Police complies with its obligations under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 in policing protests.

Australian civil society stands firmly behind the right to protest, with over 140 organisations endorsing the Declaration of Our Right to Protest (2023), which sets out the international legal obligations of governments to guarantee and respect the right to peaceful protest and to create an enabling environment within their jurisdictions for the exercise and enjoyment of the right.

The inappropriate use of pepper spray, stun grenades and police horses against both protestors and independent legal observers at today’s Land Forces protest highlighted the inadequacy of safeguards around police use of force against protestors. This marks the fourteenth time this year that Victoria Police have used pepper spray on peaceful protestors, with children as young as eight years old previously affected by pepper spray use at protests, according to observations by Melbourne Activist Legal Support.

The current use of force provisions contained in legislation and in police internal policies do not adequately protect against the unlawful and harmful misuse of weapons by Australian law enforcement. A 2023 Melbourne Activist Legal Support report based on the monitoring of protest policing in Victoria over several years showed that police have consistently used weapons and force in ways that can constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as per the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 and Australia’s international human rights commitments. Such practices, in effect, deny community members their democratic right to participate in protest.

We call on the Victorian Government to:

Legislate to strictly prohibit the use of all types of explosive devices, such as stinger grenades and flash-bangs, by Victoria Police due to their documented ability to cause severe injuries.

Legislate to prevent the use of OC aerosols against people involved in peaceful but non-compliant forms of protest activity, and ensure Victoria Police provides clear directives against its use in picket or protest scenarios and in crowded and confined spaces.

Review the use of kinetic impact projectile (KIP) weapons, such as baton round launchers and pepper ball firearms, by police and legislate to strictly regulate their use.

Legislate to expressly prohibit any use of police horses in public order or crowd control scenarios.

Establish a new, independent, and adequately resourced body with the capability to investigate police misconduct and conduct wide-ranging police monitoring regimes, including transparent data on police activity, to identify systemic problems with police use of powers, weapons and equipment.
We also call for designated area powers in the Control of Weapons Act and the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act to not be inappropriately used to restrict protest.

International law protects disruptive protests as long as they do not involve physical violence or serious damage to property, per UN Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 37 (2020). Temporary disruptions caused by protest do not undermine the duty that governments and their agencies have to guarantee the right to protest and to protect protesters. Importantly, mere disruption of vehicular or pedestrian movement or daily activities does not amount to “violence” at law. Disruption as a result of protests cannot be a justification for governments deploying excessive force against protestors.

We urge that you introduce the legislative and accountability safeguards set out above to ensure that Victoria Police carry out their obligations under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights & Responsibilities 2006 and international law.

Signed,

Federation of Community Legal Centres
Human Rights Law Centre
Amnesty International Australia
Inner Melbourne Community Legal
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Grata Fund
Australian Democracy Network
Liberty Victoria
Pax Christi Victoria
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
Sisters Inside
National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
Moreton Climate Action Now
March4Justice Australia
Friends of the Earth Melbourne
Conservation Council of WA
Environmental Justice Australia
The Green Institute
Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ)
Medical Association for Prevention of War
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Tomorrow Movement
Victorian Forest Alliance
Flat Out Inc.
Whitsunday Conservation Council
Extinction Rebellion WA
Peoples Climate Assembly
Extinction Rebellion Peace ACT
Islamic Friendship Association of Australia Inc
WA Forest Alliance
Redfern Legal Centre
National Justice Project
Animal Defenders Office
Extinction Rebellion SA
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
The Wilderness Society Tasmania
Extinction Rebellion Victoria (XR Vic)
350 Australia