Right to peaceful protest in Tasmania

Tasmanian Residents draw to the attention of the House the Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Act 2014. TO THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. The petition of the undersigned residents of Tasmania draw to the attention of the House the Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Act 2014. Your petitioners are concerned that the Act: 1. harshly punishes free speech and peaceful assembly, including on public streets and other public places, through possibility of four year jail terms or $10,000 fines 2. has been used against local Tasmanian parents and grandparents, contrary to the government's pledge it would not be used against 'mum and dad protesters' 3. may contravene the implied right to political communication in the Australian Constitution 4. was drafted in an unnecessarily complex and convoluted style, which was subsequently compounded by amendments made to the proposed legislation by the Upper House, and as a result there is considerable uncertainty about the operation and scope of the Act 5. was passed by the Tasmanian Parliament without the benefit of any formal public consultation process with the legal profession or other expert or interested groups 6. duplicates existing laws, including trespass and public nuisance, which manage to govern protest activity in a way that raises none of the above concerns your petitioners, therefore, request that the House repeals the Act.