Politics · Australia · 13 hrs ago
Bathurst council required $20m insurance for planned park protest
Bathurst Regional Council required $20m insurance for a planned protest in a local park in New South Wales.
Organiser Mariella Gussoni wanted to hold the rally against the culling of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park.
She held it on a nearby footpath instead, where about 120 people attended without reported problems.
The insurance requirement led her to move the rally because she was worried about the cost and potential liability.
A report by the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection says council permits and insurance rules can discourage people from speaking up.
The report recommends notification, not approval, and says protest organisers should not have to obtain insurance.
It also notes that in NSW, holding a public gathering on council land without a permit can bring a $2,200 fine.
Bathurst Regional Council told a protest organiser she needed $20 million in public liability insurance to hold a rally in a local park.
Mariella Gussoni instead held the protest on a nearby footpath, where it went ahead without issues.
The rally opposed the culling of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park and drew an estimated 120 people.
A report by the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection raised concerns about councils’ use of insurance requirements and permits for protests.
The report recommended treating permit systems as notification rather than authorisation and removing insurance requirements.
- Who
- Mariella Gussoni organised the protest. Bathurst Regional Council required $20 million in public liability insurance to hold it in the park.
- What
- A protest against the culling of brumbies was held on a footpath next to a local park after the council imposed an insurance condition for the park.
- When
- Gussoni notified the council in July about a rally planned for a day in August. The report was released on Wednesday.
- Where
- Bathurst, New South Wales; the rally took place on a footpath next to a local park.
- Why
- The protest opposed the culling of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Mariella Gussoni notified Bathurst Regional Council that she planned a protest in a local park.
The council said it would permit the rally in the park on condition that Gussoni obtain $20 million in public liability insurance.
Gussoni held the rally on a footpath next to the park, and it went ahead without issues.
The Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection released their report on protest rules and council requirements.
- Insurance demanded
- $20 million in public liability cover
- Protest organiser
- Mariella Gussoni
- Protest turnout
- Estimated 120 people
- Protest location
- Footpath next to a local park in Bathurst
- Issue protested
- Culling of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park
- NSW penalty noted in report
- $2,200 for a public gathering on council land without a permit
What people are saying
It scared me that I would be liable.
The more councils do this, the more other councils think that this is the way to interact with protest.
It’s a blatant contravention of the right to protest