Civil liberties experts have raised concerns over draconian new laws that drastically limit freedom of movement in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Gatherings of more than two people in indoor and outdoor spaces are banned under the laws, unless they are members of the same household.
The laws, which came into effect on Tuesday and are enforced by individual states and territories, also prevent people from leaving their homes unless they have a “reasonable excuse” such as exercise, grocery shopping, caring for another person, getting medical supplies or care, or in an emergency.
Those found to be in breach of the laws face fines of $1000 or more, and in some states, up to six months in jail.
NSW Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Stephen Banks described the restrictions as “extraordinary” and “obviously extreme”.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in our lifetimes,” he said.
The idea of making it illegal to leave your own home except with a reasonable excuse is the most severe kind of restriction that could be imagined.’’
Although the coronavirus pandemic is a valid reason for the restrictions, Mr Banks said that governments and police must “do everything that they can to maintain community support … because if the community ceases to support it, then it becomes unworkable”.
Laws must be ‘vigilantly’ monitored
The unprecedented laws may be temporarily necessary, but enforcement must be monitored “vigilantly” to ensure they aren’t misused, according to one of the nation’s leading civil liberties organisations.
Both the community and government are “rightly focusing” on “what needs to happen to keep us safe” in light of the “threat that is posed to the health and safety of us all” by COVID-19, Liberty Victoria spokeswoman Gemma Cafarella said.
But the measures “need to be reasonable, necessary and only in place for as long as strictly necessary”, she said.
Stay-at-home directions “give the state extraordinary and unprecedented powers to restrict movement and also impose significant penalties for people who don’t comply with them”, Ms Cafarella said.
“That’s largely going to play out in the way that their rules are enforced, and we are vigilantly watching this space to ensure that the measures don’t cross the line into unnecessarily impinging upon people’s rights and freedoms.”
The laws could also “disproportionally affect people who are vulnerable”, Ms Cafarella warned.
“For example, a person who doesn’t have safe and secure housing is far more likely to be moving around, she said.
We think it’s really important that these laws don’t disproportionately criminalise or penalise those people.’’
Confusion over what is, and isn’t allowed
The hastily written and approved laws lack clarity and have caused confusion in the community, Ms Cafarella said.
“It’s really essential that there’s clarity about what the rules are, but there are some areas where there really isn’t sufficient clarity,” she said.
For example, there is “not a lot of guidance” over what is considered a necessary reason to leave the house.
It is important that people aren’t unfairly put in a position where they break the rules because they don’t understand them,’’ Ms Cafarella said.
University of Technology Sydney civil liberties law expert Geoff Holland agreed, saying that “it’s not only the public that are going to be confused by this”, but also police.
“Unless you are going to have an all-inclusive list of those things that will be acceptable, which in itself creates problems … It means that interpreting a reasonable excuse will need to be done by the police officer who’s enforcing it,” Dr Holland said.
Police officers are going to have to use their discretion, which is of real concern.’’
If the matter proceeds to court, there is “again, no certainty” around how the law will be interpreted, he said.
Can you visit your partner if they live in a different household?
Another major area of confusion, particularly for share-house residents, is whether you can visit your partner if they live in a different house.
The New Daily contacted several federal and state authorities for clarification.
New South Wales and Victoria confirmed that visiting a partner who lives in a separate household is not allowed.
In other states and territories, though, it is.
“We have to recognise that his is a difficult time, [COVID-19] is a real threat and the government has good reason to be concerned about the spread of the illness,” Dr Holland said.
But a good law is one where people know what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to.
“Instead, there’s uncertainty.”
The post What Australia’s ‘extreme’ new coronavirus laws and police powers mean for our civil liberties appeared first on The New Daily.
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