OPINION – ANNE WEBSTER
DISTURBING images have emerged from the protests in Melbourne this week. It is disappointing that the behaviour of the minority taint the behaviour of the vast majority who have peacefully protested.
This behaviour is inexcusable.
I stand with the Prime Minister who this week rightly condemned the acts when he said that the threats and intimidation had no place in Australia.
The intimidating behaviour of the few are not the answer and must be denounced emphatically.
The debate about the pandemic legislation must happen and must not be short-sheeted by an extremist narrative. People are right to oppose the pandemic legislation before State Parliament. Victorians want their freedom back and they want government to stop telling them what to do.
Victorians are resilient people, but we have lost tolerance for the relentless overreach into our everyday lives.
Victorians must be able to use their democratic right to protest peacefully.
The significant numbers of people involved in the protests are indicative of the real public angst about this Bill. Members of the public – ordinary, everyday Australians – small business owners, doctors, nurses, lawyers, mums and dads, want the Victorian Parliament to know that they are not OK with this legislation.
We have one of the most vaccinated populations in the world and have been led through the longest lockdown in the world by Premier Daniel Andrews. It’s no wonder that there is distrust towards the Premier, who is seeking greater authoritarian control, without proper democratic oversight and systems of appeal.
People who normally avoid politics are engaging in this discussion because it has serious and long-lasting implications for themselves and their children.
It’s the sensible concerned Australians that will ultimately carry and deliver the message of reason to the Premier and his counterparts.
Over a two-year period, people have had so little power and so little voice. We need to hold on to our right to challenge the parliament. Protest is our democratic agency to hold governments to account and keep them in check with the people that they represent.
