Canberrans will be relieved by today’s statement from ACT Policing that no crime was committed by Dissent Cafe and Bar last Wednesday, but many questions remain unanswered.

Unsurprisingly, ACT Policing has determined that displaying satirical and anti-fascist posters is not a crime. It’s ridiculous that five officers were diverted from other work to close Dissent Cafe and Bar and remove these posters. 

If taking this kind of heavy-handed action before determining the legality of the materials in question is how the Commonwealth legislation is supposed to function, Canberrans have made it patently clear that these laws don’t meet our expectations and need to be changed. If this incident does not reflect how the legislation is supposed to function, we need to course correct before someone else’s artistic expression is wrongfully accused of being illegal.

Where is the apology? I’m still waiting to hear back from the Police Minister as to how such an obviously inappropriate use of limited police resources was able to occur, and what the ACT Government’s position is in relation to these laws. 

Will compensation be provided to the venue and the touring band whose gig was cancelled because of this action?

Notwithstanding today’s revelation that no crime was committed, our community needs an assurance that this was a mistake and will not happen again. Without that, this Orwellian incident is guaranteed to have a chilling effect on artistic and political expression in Canberra.

What happened last Wednesday night is not what Canberrans want for our city. If the ACT Government agrees, they need to publicly condemn these laws.