POLICE GIVEN ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ POWERS BY ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT LAWS

Left: Mark McGowan (Credit: Mark McGowan, Facebook). Right: Desmond Blurton (Credit: Nancye Miles-Tweedie.)

BY GERARD MAZZA.

Yesterday, the WA parliament passed controversial new laws which will empower police to ban individuals from entertainment precincts for up to six months.

The Popular Entertainment Precinct (PEP) laws will enable police to exclude people from designated areas for behaviour deemed to be "unlawful, antisocial, disorderly, offensive, indecent [or] threatening."

The laws also allow for people convicted of serious offences to be banned from designated areas for up to five years.

The restrictions will be in place in Northbridge, the CBD and other Perth suburbs.

The exact borders of the designated areas are yet to be determined.

Last week, WA Greens MP Brad Pettitt said he was concerned the laws gave police “unprecedented” powers.

“I have serious concerns that this will lead to serious consequences for Aboriginal people, for people who are homeless and [for people] suffering from mental illness,” Mr Pettitt said.

He said the the laws “may have unintended consequences of targeting some of the most vulnerable and marginalised in our community.”

Ballardong Noongar man and Deputy Chair of the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee Desmond Blurton said the laws will continue the colonial oppression of Aboriginal people.

“it’s going to affect the Aboriginal people,” he said.

“We don’t need certain areas of Boorloo [Perth] restricted to our people."

“We’ve been walking on this boodja [country] since Dreamtime.”

Premier Mark McGowan said the laws would keep “vibrancy in” and “thugs out”.

Tangiora Hinaki