Don’t let Tecoma, or for that matter Victoria be silenced
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/moveon-bill-likely-to-become-law-20140308-34ed5.html
We invite you to write to members of the Upper House asking them to vote against the Bill. It doesn’t take long and it will be a huge help to this campaign and to all Victorian communities who want to preserve their right to demonstrate in public.
STEP ONE: Copy and paste the following MP email addresses into an email.
STEP TWO: The ‘SUBJECT’ field should be personal and unique.
STEP THREE: Copy and paste the following letter or write one of your own.
STEP FOUR: Press Send.
STEP FIVE: Report back and share the response you receive.
Remember, irrespective of the outcome we will never give up and the campaign against McDonalds in Tecoma will continue on no matter what because this is our home, our choice, our voice.
Bruce.atkinson@parliament.vic.gov.au, Greg.barber@parliament.vic.gov.au, candy.broad@parliament.vic.gov.au, andrea.coote@parliament.vic.gov.au, georgie.crozier@parliament.vic.gov.au,
richard.dalla-riva@parliament.vic.gov.au, kaye.darveniza@parliament.vic.gov.au, david.davis@parliament.vic.gov.au, damian.drum@parliament.vic.gov.au, khalil.eideh@parliament.vic.gov.au, nazih.elasmar@parliament.vic.gov.au, andrew.elsbury@parliament.vic.gov.au, Bernie.finn@parliament.vic.gov.au, matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au, peter.hall@parliament.vic.gov.au, colleen.hartland@parliament.vic.gov.au, gavin.jennings@parliament.vic.gov.au, david.koch@parliament.vic.gov.au, jan.kronberg@parliament.vic.gov.au, shaun.leane@parliament.vic.gov.au,
john.lenders@parliament.vic.gov.au, wendy.lovell@parliament.vic.gov.au, cesar.melhem@parliament.vic.gov.au, jenny.mikakos@parliament.vic.gov.au, Amanda.millar@parliament.vic.gov.au, david.o’brien@parliament.vic.gov.au, edward.o’donohue@parliament.vic.gov.au, craig.ondarchie@parliament.vic.gov.au,
sue.pennicuik@parliament.vic.gov.au, inga.peulich@parliament.vic.gov.au,
jaala.pulford@parliament.vic.gov.au, simon.ramsay@parliament.vic.gov.au,
gordon.rich-phillips@parliament.vic.gov.au, Andrew.ronalds@parliament.vic.gov.au,
johan.scheffer@parliament.vic.gov.au, adem.somyurek@parliament.vic.gov.au,
lee.tarlamis@parliament.vic.gov.au, brian.tee@parliament.vic.gov.au, gayle.tierney@parliament.vic.gov.au, matthew.viney@parliament.vic.gov.au
LETTER TO Members of the Legislative Council
Dear Member of the Legislative Council,
Re: Summary Offences and Sentencing Amendment Bill 2014
As you are no doubt aware, the Victorian Coalition Government is asking you to vote on the Summary Offences Bill that has already passed the lower house by one vote. The Bill will remove the protections in the Summary Offences Act that have always applied to gatherings of a political nature. The passing of these laws will disable a cornerstone of our democracy. The citizen’s only voice will be our vote at an election, whereas the lobbyists and the groups they represent will have the ear of our parliament throughout the term. If we cannot pay to sit next to you, how do we demonstrate the strength of our convictions without the right to peacefully protest, hear speeches, hold signs and fill the streets?
Victorian Charter of Human Rights
The Attorney General himself has acknowledged that the amendments will “impose a limitation on an individual’s right to move freely within Victoria … and may, in certain circumstances, limit the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Where the Government wants to pass a law that infringes these human rights, it must provide a specific, evidence-based justification for its actions. It must be able to demonstrate the precise nature of the threat to which the new measures are directed, so that it is possible to assess whether the limitations are directed towards a permissible purpose, and whether they are proportionate to the interest to be protected.
The expansion of police powers proposed by the Bill creates serious risks that the move on powers will be applied in an arbitrary or disproportionate way, or used against vulnerable and disadvantaged groups; such as the homeless and the mentally ill.
What I want from you as a member of the legislative council
As a constituent of the Victorian electorate, I require a response to this letter telling me clearly whether or not you will be voting against the Bill and the reasons for your decision. An election is upon us, and this single issue will decide how I vote. If you are a MLC who truly represents people and not lobbyists, then my vote will be yours.
Yours sincerely,
