Authorities in Australia have given themselves the power to have police remove children from the custody of their parents in order to ensure compliance with coronavirus rules.
Schedule 2 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020 amends the Emergency Response Act 2004 to create new powers during “declared emergencies.”
Section 25 of the act states the following;
—Removal of children
(1) Without derogating from section 25, an authorised officer may, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with any direction under that section, remove a child from any premises, place, vehicle or vessel to a place of residence of the child or to a hospital or quarantine facility, as the authorised officer thinks fit (and may, in doing so, use such force as is reasonably necessary).
A child is defined as anyone under the age of 18.
As we have exhaustively documented, the state of Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown is one of the most draconian in the developed world.
Yesterday, authorities in Melbourne announced that they would be using surveillance drones to catch people who don’t wear masks and to keep track of cars that travel further than 5km from home.
“High powered drones will be used to find people not wearing masks and cars too far from home,” according to a 7News Melbourne news report.
The drones will also be used to ensure skate parks and playgrounds remain empty.
The surveillance devices can be flown up to a distance of 7km and produce images so clear they can “read a vehicle’s number plate from 500 meters away.”
Privacy advocates are concerned that there is no sunset clause on the use of such technology and the drones could continue to be used to spy on citizens after the pandemic ends.
7News Melbourne spoke to two residents who said they weren’t worried because they were behaving and had “nothing to hide.”
Several videos have also emerged of police manhandling and choking women for not wearing masks.
Police have also been given the power to enter people’s homes without a warrant and perform quarantine spot checks.
Drivers are also being asked to show their papers at highway checkpoints simply to get to work.
Anyone caught outside without a mask or violating the 8pm-5am curfew also risks a massive fine.
The rules are also being enforced by Australian Defence Force troops patrolling parks and other outdoor areas.
Police also fined a couple for allowing their child to play further than 5km from their home, while also executing a search warrant against and seizing computers belonging to two men who were planning an anti-lockdown protest.
Australia’s crackdown is rivaled by neighboring New Zealand, which announced last week that suspected COVID infectees and their family members would be held inside quarantine camps against their will for at least 14 days.
Source: SUMMIT NEWS