Australia Bans Dissent After 'Terror Attack' (Not Genocide)
The NSW Premier, Chris Minns, and his police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, are eager to deploy new laws allowing protest bans for up to three months, following the Bondi attack. (The Guardian reports Minns wants them 'triggered quickly'). Interestingly, this legislative sprint comes as global outrage mounts over unfolding atrocities, and governments worldwide find protests increasingly inconvenient.
One might recall similar 'emergency powers' enacted post-9/11 that quickly pivoted to surveilling climate activists and anti-war movements. It appears that the 'terrorist event' has conveniently provided cover for silencing public dissent. While one tragedy is mourned, another—the erosion of civil liberties and the right to protest (specifically against state-sanctioned violence overseas)—is
quietly normalized. How many 'last warnings' will we ignore before governments are only responding to tragedies they prefer?