Rachel spoke on the Crimes Amendment Bill 2026, explained why the bill will not be supported by Legalise Cannabis Victoria.
The amendment will make it easier for police to commence adult prosecutions for serious vilification offences, as police would no longer need consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This raises serious concerns around protest, as the government have been unable to answer as to which behaviours they are seeking to prosecute more readily.
While the amendment does not spefically ban peaceful protest, it effectively removes an oversight safeguard that were viewed by many as an important protection for protest speech.
Thursday the 5th of March 2026,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
I rise to speak on the Crimes Amendment Bill 2026 on behalf of Legalise Cannabis Victoria. I would like to begin by reminding the chamber that the right to peaceful protest is central to both our political system and our way of life. We must preserve this right in both theory and practice. Legalise Cannabis Victoria is a party that is built on protest, and I say that with immense pride. While the conservative media and some sections of this chamber deride protest, without it, great and necessary progress would never have been achieved. Whether it be Black Lives Matter, the Me Too movement or the brave protesters standing up against immigration and customs enforcement agents in the US right now, protest matters. Without protest, it is likely that the Berlin Wall would still be standing. Apartheid would remain in South Africa. We would not have anything like an 8-hour working day, and many women in this chamber would not only be unable to work but be unable to vote. Protest is disruptive; that is the point. It creates discomfort. But that does not mean it should be criminal. Safety and community harmony are also important.
In 2025 I was proud to be part of the changes to the anti-vilification laws passed by this Parliament. I am a proud member of the LGBTIQA+ community, and I assure you that I understand firsthand how important those changes are. At the time I supported an amendment by the Greens to these laws that required the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions to commence a prosecution for certain vilification offences. We supported this amendment because it provided real and necessary checks and balances on these new powers, making sure that they were not misused by police to, among other things, crack down on peaceful protesters. Now the government say they need to get rid of this amendment on the basis that it will make it easier to prosecute these offences. Firstly, what behaviour are we talking about? It should be noted that no member of government has been able, in media or elsewhere, to answer exactly what behaviour would be easier to prosecute. Does this mean that certain chants at protests could lead to jail time? In a recent interview with Raf Epstein the Attorney-General herself could not answer specific questions about scenarios that were currently taking place in protests around Melbourne, which are happening right here and right now. This simply is not good enough.
Without clear guidance on exactly why it is necessary to remove the amendment, we are left with the conclusion that this is power for the sake of itself. I would like the chamber to keep that in mind and that the original amendment has been in effect for only six months. We have not seen any evidence that the consent requirement is creating any delay in prosecuting offenders. In fact, as far as we understand it, in the six months since the amendment has been in effect no charges and no prosecutions have been made. To now roll back safeguards, absent from evidence and community consultation, is unjustified, and we cannot support it.
To be clear, we understand that this is a balancing act. Legalise Cannabis Victoria wholeheartedly supports the anti-vilification measures that were enacted by the Parliament in 2024, indeed with support from us at the time. We are proud to have been part of creating new serious criminal vilification offences where someone intentionally or recklessly, on the grounds of a protected attribute, incites hatred against, serious contempt for, revulsion towards or severe ridicule of a person or group that threatens physical harm towards another person or group or threatens damage to a property. Those changes also introduced a civil harm-based protection to restrict hateful, serious, contemptuous, reviling or severely ridiculing public conduct that is directed at any person or group because of their protected attribute. That bill incorporated a five-year statutory review to allow us to understand how the changes in the bill operate in practice and whether it is operating as intended. The checks and balances were already built in. Anti-vilification legislation recognises that we cannot allow hatred to be spread. We know inaction allows hate to fester and our most marginalised communities suffer the brunt of that harm, but we also recognise that marginalised groups are almost always subject to greater abuses of power than the mainstream. Marginalised people protest. Oftentimes protest is their only way to be heard in the corridors of power. And yes, sometimes people protest on their behalf, as they should if and when they see injustice.
The intention of anti-vilification legislation is to protect vulnerable communities, not to silence them. It is certainly not intended to give police the power to shut them down. Victoria Police should never be granted powers that could be used against peaceful protesters. No matter if you think the protesters are courageous and just or fringe elements and out of step, they must be allowed to have their say. The 2025 Greens amendment to protect the rights of protesters should remain intact. I remind the chamber that it has been in place for six months with zero issues. To repeal it now is empty symbolism at best, chronic overreach at worst. To this end we cannot support this bill.
Related:
- Liberal’s ‘Safer Protest’ bill could prevent peaceful protest – Rachel Payne
- Protect Victorians’ rights to peacefully protest – Rachel Payne
- Refer anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes to inquiry – Rachel Payne
- Justice Legislation – Anti-vilification Protections Expanded – Rachel Payne
- LGBTIQA+ rights and Anti-vilification laws – Rachel Payne
