Kyle Magee: Ad-busting, exclusion and the urban environment

This is an article about freedom of communication, and how it is essential to democracy and the inclusive city.2 This struggle for democratic speech is highlighted by the case of Kyle Magee, a Melbourne activist. Australia is a liberal democracy that prides itself on its ability to protect citizens without a formal Bill of Rights embedded in its Constitution.3 Citizens rely principally on common law freedoms developed over hundreds of years by the judiciary. In recent times the High Court has recognised some implied constitutional rights to political freedoms. Among the implied rights is a right to political communication, which covers actions as well as speech. 4 Political communication generally takes place in the public sphere. The ‘public sphere’ includes both physical public spaces and the media. 5 However, the public sphere is crowded with commercial messages. Therefore, although there may be a right to speak within these spaces, the ability to do so is virtually non-existent without large financial resources.