Letter to The Editor - Another major priority of the police should be to safeguard the freedom of assembly

To The Australian          It is disgracefully anti-social that "200 anti-fascist protesters tried to stop buses entering a Melbourne reception centre" recently ("Alt-right event organizer won't pay police bill", 28/8), but it is even more disgraceful that Victoria Police are trying to charge the victims of that assault $67,842. Those protesters were themselves acting in a thoroughly fascist manner that is completely contrary to our national tradition of "the fair go". As for the attempt by Police Minister Lisa Neville to justify the bill, it is pathetic. Yes, it may be that "public safety" is the "top priority" of Victoria Police, but that must therefore mean the effective quelling of any mass bullying behaviour by thugs. Moreover, another major priority of the police should be to safeguard the freedom of assembly, something that is a linchpin of the free society, yet she says nothing about that. Finally, the commercial nature of the event in question is quite irrelevant to the justice and law and order issues at the forefront of this public scandal.
  Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic