Victoria’s police chief will be given sweeping powers to shut down or move on protests in the aftermath of terrorist events, while officers carrying rifles will be deployed to the Boxing Day Test following the Bondi terror attack.
Jacinta Allan on Monday announced Victoria will follow New South Wales by introducing legislation to parliament next year granting the police commissioner the power to “stop or move on a public protest within a certain time following a designated terrorist event”.
The Victorian premier said her government was still receiving legal advice on whether attacks in other states would trigger the powers and how long they would apply but noted the new powers would likely be modelled on the NSW legislation, under which protests can be banned for 14 days.
“We have always defended the right to protest – and we will not allow a return to the undemocratic laws that aim to reduce the power of workers – but the safety of the community is paramount,” Allan told reporters.
“There is a need for there to be calm, for there to be cohesion.”
The move is expected to be welcomed by the police commissioner, Mike Bush, who earlier on Monday said he had been in discussions with the government about being given the power to “veto protests when they’re not appropriate”.
Bush maintained Victoria did not need a protest permit system like in NSW but urged people not to protest after the Bondi attack, saying it would be “very inappropriate”.
He announced the police Critical Incident Response Team (Cirt), carrying long-arm semi-automatic rifles, would be deployed to the Boxing Day Test as an additional security measure after the attack.
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But he stressed the decision was proactive and “based on the current threat environment and not a specific new threat”.
“The reason we’re doing this is to provide reassurance to the public that we are here always to keep them safe but also as a deterrent,” Bush said.
He said the Cirt officers will be “highly visible” across all five days of play, joining an additional 120 officers outside the MCG. He said similar deployments would be considered on a case-by-case basis at other major events over summer, including the Australian Open.
Allan also announced the government would fast-track the civil law aspects of the state’s new anti-vilification laws to come into effect in April 2026, instead of mid-year.
The government will also amend the laws to remove the requirement for consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions before police can pursue criminal vilification charges – a compromise that was reached with the crossbench in order for the bill to pass parliament in April.
Allan said she was hopeful the Coalition, which voted against the anti-vilification laws, would support the amendment.
She also committed to introducing new laws to “hold social media companies to account” when vilification is carried out by anonymous users.
Allan said a “respected jurist” would be appointed to examine how this could work, including whether platforms could be held liable for civil claims when the owner of an account cannot be identified. The laws could also extend to online forums, including comment sections on news websites, her statement said.
Also included in her “five next steps to combat antisemitism” was a review of Victoria’s gun laws, to be led by the former police commissioner Ken Lay, the release of the state’s new strategy for preventing and countering extremism and the appointment of a commissioner to oversee its implementation, and the establishment of a council of “eminent Victorians” to develop clear, measurable long-term goals to combat antisemitism and implement recommendations from Jillian Segal’s federal review.
Allan said the measures reflected her commitment to “fight” for the safety of Melbourne’s Jewish community, a city she described as once being globally recognised as a “haven for Jews after the war”.
“I cannot fully personally comprehend the unique sadness, pain and fear of Jews in this moment. But I can share in their horror that the worst massacre of Jewish lives since October the 7th took place here – on an Australian beach in the summer, the very backdrop of our gentle, carefree way of life,” she said.
“December the 14th was a direct attack upon Jews, a direct attack upon our way of life. It demands action.”
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