For a week now I’ve been tracking the progress of the story that’s resulted in injuries to a journalist on Sydney streets today, but the inevitability of the denouement makes makes me feel no less sick at the behaviour of NSW police minister Michael Costa.

Images of the worst of times in Queensland under Sir Joh keep flashing through my mind. A police officer caught on video repeatedly bashing a protester walking, just walking, in the front line of a march. Sir Joh said onya. Division on the street – regular people with a cause pitted against hundreds of police with batons. No respite, no reason. I fled ultra-conservative Queensland for a place where people’s democratic rights were respected. Now history repeats itself in Labor-run NSW via a police minister who used to head the State’s union movement and now apes a Queensland Premier hated by unionists. Many unionists are protesting today against the WTO meeting. Costa puts hundreds of police on the street to face them, after frothing at the mouth for days on how evil they all are, creating a hyped media event from nothing. It can’t be… It is.

Today, a comment piece I wrote for smh.com.au on the tragedy, extracts of Michael Costa’s mouth-foaming rhetoric of hatred in Parliament yesterday, and an AAP report on his response to today’s tragedy.

The people and corporations whose interests are being represented at the meeting are rich, powerful and well connected, and want to increase their dominance over world affairs. Whether they’re right or wrong, the people outside wanting to protest are virtually powerless, have little money, and aren’t being paid for their commitment. To see them as “David” against Goliath is a gross understatement. Costa’s demonisation of ordinary citizens is despicable. He’s inciting violence on the streets to literally feed off people’s fears and anxieties for his political advantage.

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Shove polling: copping it tough before an election

by Margo Kingston

I feel like I’ve been transported back to the days when it was frightening to dissent from government policy in Queensland. The then Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, banned protest marches and condoned police violence against people who marched to protest the ban in order to win and keep conservative voters.

It’s hard to believe that a modern Labor government is blatantly using the Sir Joh precedent more than 25 years later in what looks like a deliberate policy to foster and politically profit from violence on the streets.

The lead-up to today’s injury to a journalist when mounted police charged into protesters in the Sydney CBD is chilling.

It began, ironically enough, when Greens Upper House member Lee Rhiannon asked this question of NSW police minister Michael Costa October 31:

“Will the Minister, as a responsible Minister, ensure that police on duty at the protest planned against the world trade organisation to be held in Sydney next month do not perpetrate violence against protesters, as we witnessed by some police at the S11 Melbourne protest in 2000 and some M1 protests in Sydney? Will the Minister ensure that police exercise their duty of care to protesters in such a way that protesters who infringe any law are arrested and not brutalised by police using their horses, batons or wedge chargers?”

Costa not only refused to give such a guarantee, but called on Rhiannon to resign for hosting – with the permission of Costa’s Labor colleague, Senate president Meredith Burgmann – a forum on civil disobedience to be held in parliament house that Friday. Without a shred of evidence, Costa accused Rhiannon of condoning and promoting violence on the streets.

“I believe that every member of this House, other than Lee Rhiannon and maybe a couple of the nutters that support her on the cross benches, would be appalled by this move by Lee Rhiannon. She speaks very sanctimoniously in the House about things that other members of the House do, yet she is blatantly involved in a process that could lead to violence at the WTO meeting. It is a disgrace. She ought to resign.”

Civil disobedience, as Costa would know as the former head of the NSW Labor Council, is about using non-violent means to make a political statement. Having witnessed the May Day blockade of the Sydney Stock exchange last year, I can personally attest to the discipline and focus of protest organisers to dissuade the few outlaws who sometimes hijack these events from causing trouble. If events were allowed to take their normal course this week the police would have had the cooperation of protest organisers and the great bulk of participants to arrest those with a violent agenda.

The planned protest march against the agenda of the World Trade Organisation meeting in Homebush this week was backed by many unions, Christian social justice groups, environmental groups and many other respectable community organisations Costa now condemns as condoners, if not perpetrators, of violence.

Ms Rhiannon asked a supplementary question: “Minister, will you confirm that, if any protester breaks the law at the WTO meeting in Sydney, they will be arrested and the police will not use inappropriate and illegal tactics?”

Costa’s reply chilled me to the bone. “Let us be clear: People are coming here to have a violent confrontation with the police. Let me say to you: The police will be prepared and I will back the police in what they do.”

The next day, Costa went to town. After getting the Daily Telegraph on the rampage with a page one scream, Costa talked to the shock jocks, led by Alan Jones, to kick the can even more. The police commissioner then accompanied him to Homebush for another rave. Create and incite hysteria, suppress peaceful dissent, and what do you get? Perhaps exactly what you want.

At last Friday’s parliament house forum, rumours began to circulate that routine negotiations with the police to arrange a march permit for the city to protest the WTO meeting (such permits are issued as a matter of course) had suddenly come to a halt. Instructions from “higher up” meant there’d be no permit, junior police started saying. Why on earth would this be so? The march would be miles away from Homebush, where no marches were planned.

On Tuesday, the commander of security for the WTO meeting, one Dick Adams, suddenly announced a black ban on march permits from yesterday to Saturday, when the WTO meeting wound up. I spoke to one of Costa’s people that day. Yes, he’d heard that Adams had just announced a ban, “but that would be an operational decision taken by the commander – we wouldn’t get involved in that”.

Yeah, yeah. The Adams action was nothing short of incendiary. It meant that the only way for dissenters to the WTO agenda to make their point to the public – a street march – had been outlawed. He trashed fundamental civil liberties in the state of NSW. Naturally, the WTO protest organisers decided to march anyway. Costa had set the stage for the violence he claimed he wanted to avoid.

Today, the inevitable result. The protest march took on enormous symbolic importance, heightened emotions on both sides, and probably attracted the attendance of outlaws who mightn’t have bothered to turn up if the cameras weren’t guaranteed by Costa’s actions to be there.

Police let the march happen, in which 1500 people took part, including “scores of media” and “hundreds of police”. That’s right, hundreds. Then the violence – by the police, not the protesters, from reports so far – and an horrific injury inflicted by police on a reporter from the Australian. (At first it was thought that the reporter had broken her pelvis, but doctors later ruled this out.)

“The only injury so far has been Patricia Karvelas, a journalist from The Australian, who was trampled by two police horses. Witness Sally Quilter, a 57-year-old nurse, said: “Somehow she fell to the ground and these two great big horses at the end of the line came out and charged and trampled on her. “There were two big men on them, so that’s a lot of weight. They just rushed into the crowd. I can’t believe they weren’t told to. I can’t believe what I saw.” Ambulance officers treated Ms Karvelas before taking her to hospital with a suspected fractured pelvis.”

What provoked this police action? Superintendent Glen Harrison said there was a small element of the march “committed to provoking violence”.

“Fifty or sixty of the protesters have been pushing and shoving and trying to provoke the police and cause disruption to police and traffic,” he said. Notice he makes no allegation of protester violence. Protesters simply provoked the police into violence. Nice one. Be careful, all NSW citizens. The police under Michael Costa are ready to do violence if “provoked” by a push or a shove.

What a sad way to try to win an election. What dangerous games are being played, what civil liberties are being trashed, to keep this disreputable, cynical government in power. Pity the police on the street who did nothing to encourage this disgusting spectacle, yet got enmeshed in it on the orders of their superiors after their minister’s orchestration.

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NSW Parliament, Wednesday, November 13

Ms LEE RHIANNON: My question is directed to the Minister for Police. What possible justification is there for banning peaceful protest methods such as walking and holding banners at the World Trade Organisation [WTO] Sydney meeting? Does the Labor Government want to protect Trade Ministers from reading banners critical of WTO policies? Is a banner an offensive weapon? Is walking violent? Does the Minister concede that the heavy-handed policing methods planned for the WTO are counterproductive and designed to discourage people from attending and exercising their legitimate civil rights peacefully?

MICHAEL COSTA: I am getting sick of Ms. Lee Rhiannon leading with her chin but she has once again taken the opportunity to do precisely that. Part of her question could have been reasonably intelligent. I would not have minded explaining what the WTO stands for and giving intelligent critiques of the problems associated with some of the policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. There are some good critiques in that regard that people should read. But Ms Lee Rhiannon did not ask that question so we cannot go into policy issues.

… Ms Lee Rhiannon focused on the rabble who are seeking to take control of our streets and to use a legitimate vehicle in our democracy – the right to protest – to carry on in a ratbag manner. I have already outlined to Parliament several times the sorts of people who are associated with WTO protests. They are open about their actions: Their views are on the web site. I have the details in front of me. These same people recommend that protesters purchase metal baseball bats because they are lighter than wooden ones to use against police or to purchase paints “to throw on pigs”that is a direct quote from the web site. The list goes on and on. These people have signalled clearly that they are coming to Sydney to cause problems not only for the community but for delegates who will attend the WTO meeting. I understand that those delegates will, for once, discuss issues to do with global poverty and how we can stabilise international trade. They are important issues about which some community elements have important views, many of which are not positive regarding the WTO’s actions.

That should be dealt with intelligently. I have not heard Ms Lee Rhiannon say anything intelligent other than to talk about civil disobedience. As honourable members know she has defined civil disobedience very precisely, that is, the right to break laws that she does not agree with.

Would Ms Lee Rhiannon explain which laws of this State are oppressive and people have a right to civilly disobey? The fact of the matter is her proposition is that civil disobedience is the way forward because of unjust laws – and that is a legitimate tactic – but Ms Lee Rhiannon has never identified the laws about which people should engage in this sort of action. Is it the law to peacefully protest? Police will permit people to go to a number of venues in the city and peacefully protest but that does not entitle them to run down the streets and cause mayhem, targeting commercial and government businesses and other institutions that they label as being against their ideological views.

Ms Lee Rhiannon has a major problem. She needs to do a number of things. Firstly, she must give the commitment that I ask for: that people associated with the protest will not be involved in violence. She has not given that guarantee. Secondly, I ask Ms Lee Rhiannon to apologise for what the ratbags in the Greens did on Remembrance Day in Victoria, about which she has been silent. She has the hide to constantly accuse our police prospectively of being involved in police brutality. That is a nonsense; she has no evidence to support that claim. She ought to do the right thing and apologise to the groups she has offended. She should take the opportunity tomorrow and on Friday to urge restraint, caution and a peaceful protest.

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Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS (Democrats): Did the Commissioner of Police issue a memo asking police officers who are to be involved in crowd control operations at protests against a meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Sydney on 14 and 15 November to remove identification badges from their uniforms?

MICHAEL COSTA: I am not aware of the issue raised by the honourable member. I am happy to determine whether any such memo exists. However, knowing the record of the Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, it would not surprise me if he made this up. I am glad that he asked me this question because it gives me an opportunity, once again, to reiterate the position of the Government, NSW Police and all sensible members of this House: We have no problem with people engaging in peaceful protests. We acknowledge that it is a fundamental right to engage in peaceful protest. However, we have a real problem with people arming themselves to go and confront police in a violent demonstration.

Rhiannon: Where’s the proof?

Costa: The proof is there.

Rhiannon: Where?

Costa: If the member had been in the House earlier she would have heard me answer a question about web sites that advocated violence.

Rhiannon: Who put it on the web sites? Your mates?

Costa: It is completely absurd for the Hon. Lee Rhiannon to interject in that form, given that last week she used Parliament House to hold a forum on civil disobedience. By her own definition, civil disobedience is about breaking the law when she believes it appropriate to do so, so that she can gain personal benefit. I was amazed to hear her say that it was appropriate to break the law. That is precisely the issue we are discussing: the right to peaceful protest versus arming for violent confrontation, which is not civil disobedience is a bunch of ratbags taking advantage of democratic rights and principles, and abusing those democratic rights and principles.

It is a shame the Greens are taking this attitude. The Greens ought to explain to this House whether they condone the actions of some of their party members who protested yesterday, Remembrance Day, in Victoria. It was disgraceful. Yesterday two Greens candidates, Robyn Evans and Pamela Curr, were among a number of demonstrators who used Remembrance Day to make an anti-war statement in a manner that was offensive to the veterans who were present at the ceremony. One person involved in that demonstration said she believed that the ceremony was an horrific experience that glorified war, particularly when four vintage planes flew over and a cannon was fired during the service. That is the sort of person we are dealing with! On a day on which we were paying respect to our war veterans, the people who fought for the democratic rights that the Greens want to abuse, they ran a campaign against Remembrance Day. Steve Bracks, the Premier of Victoria, has asked the two Greens candidates to apologise. I ask Ms Lee Rhiannon and the Hon. Ian Cohen to apologise for their actions in this House and to not accuse our police of potentially engaging in violence and to not desecrate the honour of our war veterans and everything else that this country stands for.

Chesterfield-Evans: I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister assure the House that police officers will wear their identification badges when on duty so that they can be seen to be accountable while at the meeting of the World Trade Organisation?

Costa: I assure the honourable member that our police will take action to ensure that the community can go about its business on 14 and 15 November without harassment from the hypocrites who come into this House and make unsubstantiated allegations against our police officers before the event. The only evidence that such harassment is likely follows on from the demonstration of 1 May, when demonstrators threw marbles under police horses in an attempt to bring them down. Those hypocrites have the gall to make allegations about our police officers, but the people that they support have been involved in confrontation with our police. They sought to disrupt the New South Wales community, and on Remembrance Day they had the gall to denigrate the memory of those who died protecting the very rights that they seek to abuse. They are a disgrace. The real question is: Will the Greens apologise for the disgraceful effort of their candidates, during the Victorian election campaign, on Remembrance Day? If not, they stand condemned as the hypocrites that they are.

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NSW: Costa to table report into journalist WTO protest injury WTO Costa

 

SYDNEY, Nov 14 AAP – NSW Police Minister Michael Costa will provide a full report after a journalist was injured today by a police horse at an anti-World Trade Organisation (WTO) protest.

Mr Costa agreed to make the report public after he was questioned by NSW Greens MP Ian Cohen in the upper house today.

Patricia Karvelas, a journalist from The Australian newspaper, was rushed to hospital with a suspected fractured pelvis after being stood on by a horse when police charged to arrest protesters.

“I’ve asked for a report from police about it, let me say that I think everyone in the house, including myself and the police involved, acknowledge and send our condolences to her for her injuries,” Mr Costa said.

“She is there, as are many people in the media, to cover events. She is obviously a person who was injured in the course of her work as opposed to somebody that went there illegally to demonstrate like the honourable Ian Cohen.”

Mr Costa said Ms Karvelas was only there because an illegal demonstration was being held.

“And that illegal demonstration was being conducted in the face of police, government and other concerns about the likely outcomes of those sorts of activities in the city,” Mr Costa said.

He disagreed with Mr Cohen’s claim that police action had vilified protesters, saying certain websites by action groups indicated their plans for violent confrontation this week.

“The fact of the matter is that these sites have been advocating violence against the WTO meeting and clearly our police are charged with the responsibility of maintaining social order,” Mr Costa said.

He said protesters were “very sophisticated” and technology was being used to cause “maximum chaos in the city”.

“They are running an SMS messaging service and that service allows people involved in the demonstration to contact and be informed of where they should do something called spin the bottle,” he said.

“The spin the bottle blockade takes on the WTO in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish, and you can join them.

“They come and pretend they’re running peaceful protests – if they wanted a peaceful protest they would go to the ones that have been permitted by the police.”

Mr Costa said he had asked police to detail the cost of the WTO meeting and the cost of all precautions that had to be taken due to the threat of violent protest action.

Margo: The nerve of this appalling person knows no bounds. Police banned all marches from yesterday to Saturday, for the duration of the WTO meeting. The march was illegal because police refused to issue a march permit, out of the blue, after Costa had begun his fear and loathing campaign against protesters. The bill for the cost of putting hundreds of police on the streets today should be sent to Costa: he set the whole thing up.