LRADs came to light in Australia leading into Brisbane’s G20 meeting (2014), when QLD police (QPS) invited protest groups to view the hardware to be used ‘to ensure protesters followed the routes set down for them’
On Saturday, 18th of July, 2015, at approximately 12:43PM on the corner of little Bourke and Spring streets, in Melbourne, Australia a MALS Legal Observer had their mobile phone snatched out of their hands by a Victorian Police member from the Operations Response Unit (ORU) during counter-protests to the Reclaim Australia rally. The Legal Observer…
On Saturday the 18th of July 2015 Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) fielded a team of eight (8) trained Legal Observers at the Reclaim Australia and counter rallies that took place near the intersection of Spring and Bourke Streets in Melbourne’s Central Business District. Legal Observers monitored the actions of Victoria Police and recorded evidence…
A new resource for climate activists was launched in May 2015 by Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) member, Nicola Paris, who runs CounterAct. The launch was attended by environmentalists, farmers and people involved in the progressive legal community, as well as members of MALS. CounterAct collaborated with Environmental Justice Australia and the document was intended…
By Elizabeth O’SheaOriginally published in Overland Magazine. There has been plenty of hype over the recent changes to Australia’s national security legislation, and rightly so. But it is worth spending a moment to work out what actually is already on the books, what is new, and what’s coming. Prior to the recent amendments, the biggest…
Adam Fletcher, Monash University The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is controversial on at least two levels. First, it targets businesses, which some (including the Victorian Government) see as an illegitimate means of political protest. Secondly, it targets Israel, which some see as inherently anti-Jewish. This is not an article about the…
