Tasmanian Director of CLA, Richard Griggs, is a keynote speaker at a Hobart rally against proposed new laws which reduce free speech and limit protests.
CLA speaks: protesting protests gag
The Tasmanian Director of Civil Liberties Australia, Richard Griggs (right), will be one of the keynote speakers at a protest rally about protest laws in Hobart.
The rally starts at noon on Saturday 15 August in City Hall.
Saturday’s rally will be reinforced by a People’s Picket, outside Tasmania’s Parliament House, on Tuesday 19 August from 7.30am to 9.30am.
The rallies are to oppose the Liberal’s government’s new legislation which has passed the Lower House in Tasmania, and is about to be considered by the Upper House.
Critics, including CLA, believe the new law restricts free speech in the state, and puts unreasonable limits on peaceful assemblies such as protest rallies.
The rallies are coordinated by the Bob Brown Foundation, with active support of groups like Civil Liberties Australia and the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
As well as CLA’s Griggs, ALA’s Greg Barns (who is also a CLA member) will speak at the Saturday rally. Lead speaker will be former Senator and leader of the the Greens, Bob Brown, and he will be joined by gay and lesbian rights speaker Rodney Croome, Aboriginal activist Ruth Langford and lawyer Vanessa Bleyer.
Tasmanians who cannot attend either event can sign an e-petition to the Legislative Council, organised by Richard Griggs and Civil Liberties Australia, at http://bit.ly/1kdTYJk
Read the background to the protest rallies in this article by Richard Griggs:
https://www.cla.asn.au/News/turning-point-for-states-justice/