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As reported in the Courier Mail on Tuesday, police were called to the scene of a fracas outside Parliament House in Brisbane before the commencement of the Queensland Medicinal Cannabis Driving Law Rally.
There had been a strong police presence (more police than rally-goers) for an anti-wind turbine rally by One Nation (ON), that preceded the Driving Law Rally and it ran over time (without the advertised headline speaker).
Whilst ON’s nominated MC was very aggressive, one speaker in particular, an organiser of the Brisbane ‘March For Australia’ rallies and a member of white supremacist group ‘Australia First’ (who literally welcomed the racists in the small crowd), removed Legalise Cannabis Queensland (LCQ) Party signage and harassed at least one LCQ Party member. “Making trouble for the sake of it” was the observation from LCQ President, Jacki Verne. |
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To be even more undemocratic (if that was even possible), they began blasting loud music to try and drown out the speakers from the legally permitted (and much larger) Medicinal Cannabis Driving Law Rally, organised by LCQ Party, to protest against laws punishing unimpaired patients for driving whilst using legally prescribed medicinal cannabis. Queensland Police Service (QPS) returned with lights and sirens and a spokesperson said they had been made aware of a disruption to an authorised assembly outside Parliament House. QPS noted, “A counter protest group were moved on without further issues”. LCQ Party Secretary Suzette Luyken said, “They went over time and pumped the music out so we couldn’t begin. They were very abusive towards us and attacked one of our members. It’s a democracy, and we believe everyone should have their right to be heard”. LCQ President, Jacki Verne will be taking the matter up with ON Senator Malcolm Roberts who was present at the rally and attempted to excuse the behaviours! |
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The bigger story on the day, however, was the depth and breadth of speakers and the calibre of their message. Each and every one speaking to just how detrimental the proposed law changes will be to legally prescribed medicinal cannabis patients, driving unimpaired on their medication! The Queensland LNP Government is still determined to force the law changes through the Parliament and have the numbers to do so. LCQ will continue to protest this via political pressure including emails to all State representatives, with a new email campaign for members and friends to participate in over the coming weeks. There are also two ongoing petitions, one Queensland-only e-petition to ‘Legislate the use of recreational cannabis in Queensland’ and the, ‘End Driving Discrimination Against Medicinal Cannabis Patients’, GetUp Campaign.
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