Occupy Sydney Constitutional Challenge gets underway

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  The Constitutional challenge by Occupy Sydney began its somewhat drawn out sojourn through the High Court today with Occupy Sydney 's legal pivot Wenny again pulling everything together. Occupy Sydney are asking the Court to determine whether the Crown and City of Sydney are infringing on Occupy Sydney participants rights to protest by misapplying and wilfully misinterpreting regulations designed to deal with Camping and Staying Overnight. The case arises from the brutal suppression of the original Occupy Sydney occupation by over 100 NSW Police Riot cops in a pre dawn raid on October 23rd in what appears to be the first instance of riot police being used to enforce a City ordinance. In a tactical approach calculated to intimidate and cause fear amongst Occupy participants Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch sprung the assault unannounced, later claiming that "negotiations with leaders" had failed. Occupy Sydney has no leaders. Orders issued by Murdoch giving sleeping occupiers 10 minutes to gather posessions and leave were physically impossible to comply with and possibly illegal on that basis alone. Police then proceeded to brutally remove protesters while smashing protest equipment much of which they then threw in a dumpster truck. 

 The police focus on destroying Political banners placards and posters gives lie to the most disturbing aspect of the raid being the use of police to carry out the political will of elements within government . Occupy Sydney participants contend that police actions are beyond their role in society AND prioritise the desire to eliminate our peaceful protest over the rule of law. When government and police desired objectives are enforced in place of the law the state holds its interests superior to those of the people.  Tyranny becomes the order of the day and State Terrorism arrives. As participants in the Occupy Sydney movement we have seen the result as fear of police violence police intimidation and legal process consequences achiev ed via the subversion of law have caused many participants to back away from the subsequent  occupation. Many potential occupiers have expressed that they are deterred from occupying by fear of these consequences as police continued to raid the Occupy Sydney occupation up to four times daily. 

 The Occupy Sydney Occupation has successfully resisted an unrelenting and unprovoked stream of offensives by NSW police with much property taken and over 90 arrests. There has not been a single evidence based conviction of an Occupy Sydney occupier.  

Despite the NSW Governments strategy of driving fear among Occupy Sydney participants and supporters while raising the cost in material terms of delivering our anti corporate greed message Occupy Sydney remain committed to driving change from the pervading corporate dominance of society today while breaking down the barriers placed before us by pro corporate elements within government.