WA Police have issued several letters to prominent Perth activists ahead of the Land Forces 2026 exhibition.
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As previously reported, contentious new police powers have come into effect ahead of the event—to be hosted at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 6 to 8—including the authority to conduct searches, remove face coverings and seize items.
The state government also granted police the power to ban individuals from the security perimeter surrounding the event, which is the country’s largest defence expo.
The Greens WA’s social justice spokesperson, Sophie McNeill, told Youth Jam’s Isaac Mulcrone that the party knows of at least eight activists who have been added to the ‘excluded persons list’.
“If you’re a peaceful climate activist, one of these people is an 18-year-old kid and one is a 60-year-old woman, if you’ve been involved in that kind of peaceful activism you’re ending up receiving one of these letters,” she told Newsflash listeners.
“They’re just trying to justify their new laws.”
During a press conference on Thursday, WA Police Commander Darren Seivwright said those who received letters “earnt it”.
“We’ve set the threshold particularly high, so those who have been excluded have earnt it through previous sub-optimal behaviour,” he told reporters.
“If someone is excluded they have sufficient behavioural problems and some of that includes criminal history.”
McNeill refutes that claim, arguing that activists are “committed to non-violence”.
“They are using these special powers to crackdown on peaceful, non-violent activists,” she said, adding that the letters send a dangerous message to anyone wanting to protest:
“This is aimed at stopping peaceful protest, which is just shameful.”
Although McNeill conceded some of the activists have criminal convictions, she stressed they are “non-violent in their nature”.
Images: The Greens WA | Land Forces
