00:00The post and boast laws are to stop people glorifying unlawful behaviour, such as hooning.
00:08But the bill before Parliament goes further and would criminalise social media posts considered to glorify offences like trespassing and taking part in an unlawful assembly.
00:18Environmentalists say it risks stifling political protests like those organised against the Row 8 project.
00:24They take to the streets, they use social media as a way to have that conversation and to broadly engage people.
00:30We want to make sure that Western Australia remains a place where you can voice your concerns, where you can protest, where you can express your freedom of speech.
00:41These laws are not about that.
00:42UWA law professor Murray Wesson says while that might be the case, the bill could have a chilling effect on political speech and could even breach the constitution because WA's proposed laws go further than other states.
00:56None of them in any other Australian jurisdiction extend to unlawful assemblies or breaches of the peace.
01:02And so they don't have that same potential to capture protest activities involving political communication.
01:07The bill looks almost certain to pass Parliament with the opposition now pledging its support, but it might not happen anytime soon with the Greens, opposition and crossbench looking to team up to send it off to a committee for review.
01:20Because this is legislation, there's proper scrutiny and some fundamental changes.
01:25Debate on the bill is expected to begin tomorrow.
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