Civil liberties in Australia are under attack as draconian laws target protesters with heavy fines and jail time. Those who speak out in solidarity with Palestine find themselves at risk of losing their jobs or access to education. And Trump’s reign of domestic repression in the US is normalising authoritarianism around the world.

This session will examine how neoliberalism and global political trends since the 1990s have created a more repressive Australian state, and how we can fight to defend our civil liberties today.