Sedition Laws Target Peaceful Civil Disobedience : Melbourne Indymedia

In an extremely dangerous development for free speech that is yet to be picked up by the mainstream press, the new anti-terror bills clearly outlaw calls for non-violent civil disobedience.

The changes to the Sedition Act which are Part of Schedule 7 of the draft laws (p75) outline the following

"In this section:
seditious intention means an intention to effect any of the following purposes:
(a) to bring the Sovereign into hatred or contempt;
(b) to urge disaffection against the following:
(i) the Constitution;
(ii) the Government of the Commonwealth;
(iii) either House of the Parliament;
(c) to urge another person to attempt, otherwise than by lawful means, to procure a change to any matter established by law in the Commonwealth;
(d) to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between different groups so as to threaten the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth.

I draw your attention to section c) which clearly targets not just peaceful civil disobedience but anyone who calls for civil disobedience. By definition the civil disobidence is involves the attempt to change a law through non-lawful means. So shortly when you put up a post on Indymedia calling for blockading in Gippsland, being part of a non-legally sanctioned picket, a sit in against uranium mining etc you could face 7 years gaol.

But wait you say - the government says that it is offering an "acting in good faith" defence against sedition charges. Read on:

(p79 of law)
80.3 Defence for Acts done in Good Faith
(1) Sections 80.1 and 80.2 do not apply to a person who:

(c) urges in good faith another person to attempt to lawfully procure a change to any matter established by law in the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or another country;

Note the law specifically only offers a defence to people who act in good faith to urge others LAWFULLY procure a change to the law. So the law on sedition specifically offers no defence to those who call for changes to law to happen outside the law ie this obviously includes peaceful non-violent civil disobedience.

So the new sedition law makes it a serious criminal offence to even call for an act of peaceful civil disobedience.

The sedition law also only offers a defence to those involved in union actions if

"e) does anything in good faith in connection with an industrial dispute or an industrial matter."
What the hell does this mean. Who decides what industrial actions "are in good faith". Its totally open to interpretation of the courts who we know can sometimes come down very hard on militant union action. So now calling for a picket if it is outside the ever narrowing legal framework of legal disputes will be a crime facing up to seven years gaol.

The mainstream press are not even covering this aspect of the laws - but the deportation of a U.S. activist Scott Parkin who was calling for you guessed it - peaceful non-violent civil disobedience as a "national security threat" shows who the government are gunning for.

These Sedition Laws are a drastic attack on free speech and are worthy of a fascist police state. I defy someone to explain to me how these aspects of the Sedition Laws can be justified as part of the so-called "War on Terror". How will these changes to the sedition laws make us safer? Rather it is obvious that these laws are designed to give the state the power it desires to crush dissent.

I call on everyone to read the laws for themselves as there is some really scary stuff in them and hope to see you at the rally on Saturday October 22nd State Parliament 1 PM.