Activists threatened legal challenge over Perth weapons expo exclusion orders
Original report:
Western Australian police barred at least 12 people from a security zone around Perth’s Land Forces expo, the Guardian reported in October 2026. Activists disputed the exclusions, while the police minister defended the powers as preventative safety measures.
At least 12 people were banned from a security zone around the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre ahead of the Land Forces weapons expo scheduled for 6 October 2026, the Guardian reported on 2 October. Activists Will Shanahan and Matilda Lane-Rose said they would pursue legal action unless police and police minister Reece Whitby revised the exclusions.
Legislation passed the previous month gave police expanded search powers and authority to exclude people from the zone for 10 days. Breaching an order carried maximum penalties of a $36,000 fine and three years in prison. Whitby said those excluded had demonstrated histories of threatening people or property; Greens MP Sophie McNeill argued peaceful activists were being targeted.
The security zone extended from Elizabeth Quay’s bus port to the convention centre, making the exclusions broader than a restriction on expo entry. Lane-Rose and Shanahan said they had not planned to attend the protest when excluded. Their accounts put the reach of the preventative powers at the centre of the dispute.
Source
the Guardian — 2 October 2026
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