Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (20:07): (2087) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Police and concerns the withdrawal of a charge of incitement against a Ballarat mother relating to a social media post during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Many Australians and others across the world are familiar with the vision of Zoe Buhler being handcuffed by police in her kitchen, accused of inciting a protest in breach of public health orders. Unfortunately it is the stuff of COVID legend. The charge was withdrawn by Victoria Police in court in Ballarat on Tuesday. It has taken two years for the police to do the right thing. It was always a trumped-up charge, one of excess and one designed to put fear into every Victorian, knowing they had two options: to kowtow or face a judge.

During this time Victorians experienced and observed things that they never thought they would in a free country, one in which democracy and respect are fundamental tenets of our peaceful way of life. Other than Black Lives Matter gatherings, Victorians observed their right to protest being annulled with rubber bullets. Citizens were running from police officers, who used batons, bullets and a bravado barely seen in this nation. Had these crowds been assembling in the streets to riot, to burn buildings, to loot, to murder, to wreck or to create mayhem, then Victorians would have understood such aggression by the police, but these crowds had gathered for freedom. They gathered for the right to go to work, the right not to be forced to take vaccines and the right for their children to go to school. They rallied for democracy, for the return of the Parliament making decisions and not a gang of eight all in homage to one man, the Premier. It was under his incessant diktats for ultimate authority and control that the police chased protesters, hurried on grandmothers from park benches and handcuffed pregnant mothers.

The Premier offended many Victorians during this time, locking them out of their state, stopping them from being with their dying parents or children or going to their funerals. One of his most offensive statements was, ‘We had no choice’. Let me be very clear: the police had a choice about whether to charge Zoe Buhler. The action I seek of Minister Carbines is for him to offer an apology to Ms Buhler, to explain to the Victorian people why police were instructed to act so aggressively towards her and why it took two years for the charge to be withdrawn.