As the Victorian Parliament – and other landmarks – were illuminated blue in honour of the murdered policemen, Senior Constable Vadim De Waart and Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson, after Liberal MP Moira Deeming tabled a petition in Parliament.
Ms Deeming tabled a petition – potentially and likely to have been signed by ‘sovereign citizens’ – of 12,600 signatures calling on the government to abandon the idea of a statue for former Labor Premier, Dan Andrews.
During the debate, Upper House Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans descended into ‘sovereign citizen’ language and beliefs, comparing former Labor Premier Dan Andrews to Joseph Stalin.
The Upper House erupted in chaos. Ms Hermans refused to back down, and instead doubled down on ‘sovereign citizen’ language.
“Dissent was a crime,” that “undermined the foundation of the Westminster system.
“The most glaring example of this is the government’s response to Covid-19 pandemic,” Ms Hermans said.
Any debate was lost following angry rebuttals from Labor MPs.
Only seven of the Coalition’s 14 upper house members voted on a motion to note the petition. The motion was easily defeated.
The law, giving Premiers the right to a statue after 10 years in office as Premier, was enacted and passed by Liberal MP Jeff Kennett when he was Victorian Premier.
Moira Deeming MP and Ann-Marie Hermans MP did not respond to a request for comment.
