Brisbane photographer arrested under special G20 powers

Not a lot to do with the G20 Summit but if you were wondering about the current state of play in this fair state of Queensland, check this out! LINK

.... best just keep yourself to yourself and not make a fuss eh? ... wouldn't do to go upsetting the authorities, not with the way they can throw a ring-of-steel around stuff and come up with these extrajudicial rules and that ...

... with a bit of luck it'll be ages before they start burning books or sticking folk in camps and that
 
It's called the fourth amendment. It's in the bill of rights.

I know Constitutional law but if you have nothing to hide no rights have been violated. The law is not violating your Constitutional right when they ask you a few simple questions. I have been questioned in the past by law enforcement and went on my way after a couple of questions were asked..

Refusing to answer simple questions automatically makes you suspect in their eyes..

In this case though the US Constitution does not apply since this happened in another country..
 
In cases like the G20 summates, the police and laws like the above are around not protect the average citizens, but to protect privilege. Because of that differnce, you're going to have problems between citizens and the police.
 
It's called the fourth amendment. It's in the bill of rights.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

"The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. It was adopted in response to the abuse of the writ of assistance, a type of general search warrant issued by the British government and a major source of tension in pre-Revolutionary America."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

In general, customs writs of assistance served as general search warrants that did not expire, allowing customs officials to search anywhere for smuggled goods without having to obtain a specific warrant. These writs became controversial when they were issued by courts in British America in the 1760s, especially the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Controversy over these general writs of assistance inspired the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbids general search warrants in the United States.

General writs of assistance played an important role in the increasing tensions that led to the American Revolution and the creation of the United States of America. In 1760, Great Britain began to enforce some of the provisions of the Navigation Acts by granting customs officers these writs. In New England, smuggling had become common. However, officers could not search a person's property without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the writs violated their rights as British subjects. The colonists had several problems with these writs. They were permanent and even transferable: the holder of a writ could assign it to another. Any place could be searched at the whim of the holder, and searchers were not responsible for any damage they caused. This put anyone who had such a writ above the law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writ_of_assistance
Dang! I didn't know the Bill of Rights included Australia. 😀
 
One does not either in the US. However practically it is smart to do so.

If one is arrested for a minor offense such as a bicycle on the sidewalk, ID allows one to receive a bench warrant (ticket) and go on their way. Generally cops don't want to take regular folks into custody, but acting all surly is not smart. Of course identifying oneself without papers is possible, all depends on the situation. No one is ever charged with not having ID, but they may be taken into custody because they have no ID, while identity is determined.

I do find if one is white and polite cops will walk away. If one is of darker skin tones, the story complicates, rapidly.


Interesting ...one doesn`t have such a thing as an ID in the UK either.
Incidentally I wasn`t for one moment suggesting acting surely.

For about five years I acted on behalf of HM Gov lawyers .This entailed protecting identity/information and in effect not helping the police with their enquiries.

Cases generally involved serious matters.
I was often threatened by court action or court orders but only once during that time was I served with one.

It was incorrect and was promptly bounced back.

My point is that whilst one is always polite ,one doen`t need to go around obsequiously .

In the end it merely serves to encourage bullying behaviour...better to rely on the law.

Of course its clear that some counties do not enjoy that degree of liberty ...more is the pity
 
After reading through this thread I should say that it is clear that on the whole the UK appears to have a much more approachable and better behaved police force.

So perhaps I shouldn`t have been so critical of the response of others in other countries.

Of course they are unharmed too.
 
Living in the Washington DC region taking photos can be touchy. There are some places where you just can't take pictures, other places where it varies depending on what type of activity, government-wise is occuring.

I love taking train photos, I have had all my interactions with police while doing that. Only twice has that interaction been initiated by the cop. Once while photographing near the federal power plant in DC, which is right next to the housing for the congressional pages and a second time when shooting next to the tracks in Potomac Yard. The rest of the times, about half a dozen, it was passers-by who called cops to report someone photographing the railways.

In every instance I was asked for ID and what was I doing. Never was I told to stop, and on the occasions where it was passers-by who called in, the police radioed their dispatcher that there was no problem and to not bother responding to any other call-ins.

So, I've been lucky I guess. But if I'd made a big issue out of responding to the cops questions I'm sure things would have gone differently.

Bottom line, I didnt mind showing my ID and answering a few brief, polite questions. If I had been treated like a criminal before I'd had a chance to do that I would have taken the "freedom" stand.
 
Agree 100%. Anyone who deliberately picks a fight when it is not necessary to do so is a dick. Anyone who deliberately picks a fight with someone who has the power to lock them up for being a dick is an idiot and a dick.

You fight when you have to, not because you want to show everyone you have the biggest swinging whatsit in the room.

And when G20 is in town the city will already be full of brainless idiots making police nervous and edgy because these brainless twits always provoke a confrontation with "authority" just because they can. Its their only claim to fame in their empty lives. Many of these idiots bludge off the system on nice government dole money - all the while traveling from protest to protest around the country and around the world while loudly telling everyone who will listen that western civilization is broke and they mean to bring it down. Forgetting that if they do bring it down they will be among the first to suffer. Which is why they are total dicks.



You're making a lot of assumptions and generalisations about people's motivations for protesting ... and about the types of people who get up from their couches to do so.

In some cases you may be right but the majority of people I know who choose to attend these types of protests do so for reasons that I truly admire.
 
You're making a lot of assumptions and generalisations about people's motivations for protesting ... and about the types of people who get up from their couches to do so.

In some cases you may be right but the majority of people I know who choose to attend these types of protests do so for reasons that I truly admire.

I grant you Keith that I was generalizing and that some people who protest may have other more admirable motives. But from what I have seen from around the world the majority of protesters appear to me to be what I would regard as "ferals". Lets wait and see what transpires but I would not mind betting you that there will be violence or attempts at violence, destruction of property and deliberate provocations designed to promote a strong response by authorities that allows them to pretend to be victimized. Why do I say it? Because I have seen it all before. But lets hope not.

I am sad to admit I have some people in my own family who are this way inclined and although I would say they are more in the group you admire than the other group because they are motivated by a (misguided) sense of right and wrong I still think they are nothing more than "useful idiots" for the more destructive elements who are intent on attacking the status quo and tearing it down.
 
I grant you Keith that I was generalizing and that some people who protest may have other more admirable motives. But from what I have seen from around the world the majority of protesters appear to me to be what I would regard as "ferals". Lets wait and see what transpires but I would not mind betting you that there will be violence or attempts at violence, destruction of property and deliberate provocations designed to promote a strong response by authorities that allows them to pretend to be victimized. Why do I say it? Because I have seen it all before. But lets hope not.

I am sad to admit I have some people in my own family who are this way inclined and although I would say they are more in the group you admire than the other group because they are motivated by a (misguided) sense of right and wrong I still think they are nothing more than "useful idiots" for the more destructive elements who are intent on attacking the status quo and tearing it down.
Dear Peter,

What about the "useful idiots" who support the status quo? Far more numerous, and given rising inequality, probably rather more dangerous.

It is at best naive to pretend that the only choices are sheep-like conformity and destroying society completely, with nothing in between.

Cheers,

R.
 
I`m still trying to understand how relying on ones democratic rights equates to destroying society.

Oh wait a minute I have heard that before ....
 
I`m still trying to understand how relying on ones democratic rights equates to destroying society.

Oh wait a minute I have heard that before ....

... well, it has to be the right sort of democracy to start with ... obviously if it's your pinko leftish democracy, clearly they have to be stamped out before the plebs start thinking they can vote for what they want

That would never do
 
...or build a wall or elect a supreme leader ....yes I can see how that might work.
For a time that is .

Its just all these people refusing to give their "papers" that bother me.
 
right of protest..

right of protest..

We had a G- whatever gathering of World's Leaders and protest in Toronto.
The Police Chief had all these new secret powers,
the place, Downtown, was fenced off in a manner, that only the DDR, could have admired. OK, their Fathers, Ja!
Well at one such protest I came into contact with Anarchists..
The Police saw them, their threatening me and others and did nothing..
Only on last day, the Police somehow lost 2 cars to fire..
The Police then moved in like a Nazi army, led by the SS.
Simple ordinary people were arrested, hurt and detained.
A man with a prosthesis leg had it taken away while in detention.
Almost none were charged after days detention, without meals,
medicine or their Right of Legal Counsel.
Later it was found the Police acted in mostly error.
It was certainly against the Canadian Constitution.
What do people remember?
The burning Police cars, the smashed shops..
Convenient.
The Protest of Unemployment, poverty, etc BURIED.
Why was the G-whatever downtown, when a week or more\this so called leadership scum, was ensconced in a country place,
far away from the problems.
That cost more millions..
I for one don't see the police in same light as before..
Protest, Gathering in groups is a Constitutional Democratic Right.
Don't be misled by misinformation.
Sure there are Hooligans, which i am convinced were actually paid to cause incidents to forget the positive marches..
The Police Chief has NOT had his contract renewed.

Do not think it's some one Else's problem.
It will be your when they come!
Order, Security in name of Safety.
Be good, be silent.
No, Never, Give me Liberty or give me...
 
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...or build a wall or elect a supreme leader ....yes I can see how that might work.
For a time that is .

Its just all these people refusing to give their "papers" that bother me.

... well that's easy ... you just announce a great big summit meeting in plenty of time for the refuseniks, lets call them, to book time off and make plans to get to the conveniently situated ring-of-steel ... and they'll all come running to have their photos taken by the authorities ... a few new laws and some summery arrests will soon whittle the numbers down, self selecting really 🙂
 
Difficult , Fred ...like I say ID isn`t an issue in the UK.
I had supposed that America had the same freedoms.

We just haven`t given the police that much authority and I`m sure that it must cause them problems at times.
 
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