Duck rescuers and the freedom to protest: Levy v Victoria

The case of Levy v Victoria needs to be considered in context as one of many court battles fought by the seemingly indefatigable activist. In 1996, the year before the Levy decision was handed down, political activist Albert Langer had failed to convince the Court to invalidate section 329A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 on the basis of the implied freedom of political communication. The Court's recognition of protest as a form of political communication was an important and promising development. In the Levy case, much initial argument in the proceedings centred on the question of whether the implied freedom of political communication fettered State legislatures. This chapter considers the objection put forward by the defendants in relation to the application of the implied freedom of political communication, as derived from the Commonwealth Constitution, to the law making power of the Victorian Parliament.