My name is Rostislav and I am an Australian citizen, an immigrant and a local resident of the Berwick Springs community, having lived here for a number of years. I believe in the rule of law, democracy and the freedom of speech, including the speech that may disagree with the decisions made by our government.

Like the six hundred or so of our multicultural community members, who have attended the peaceful rally to voice our opposition to the sudden and underhanded renaming of our local Berwick Springs Lake, I have been labelled by our Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, as an "extremist" and "Neo Nazi".

Hundreds of local residents, from all walks of life, nationalities and religions, have been labelled as "extremist" and "Neo Nazi" by our public servant and premier, Jacinta Allan, for exercising their democratic right to voice opposition to the sudden, deeply unnecessary and unpopular decision by our government.

Putting aside the original decision to rename an existing Australian landmark with an existing community and history, it is the language that our premier used to describe the peaceful rally attendees and our wider community that I find to be the most unsettling.

Jacinta Allan's accusations are deeply insulting and completely unacceptable for someone in her position as a public servant to make. Such language undermines the very democratic values and freedom of speech that she, as our premier, should uphold.

I call on our premier, Jacinta Allan, to offer the attendees of our peaceful rally and the broader Berwick Springs community a clear, honest and a complete apology for her baseless and foul accusations.

Furthermore, I urge her to remind all Victorians that the freedom to peacefully express opinions—whether in agreement or dissent with government decisions—is a cornerstone of our democracy. Citizens must feel confident in practising this right without the fear of being baselessly labelled as "extremists", "Neo Nazis" or any number of similar slurs. This is a right that Jacinta Allan, as our premier, has a duty to protect and preserve.

Please sign this petition to support the request for an apology from Jacinta Allan towards the rally attendees and the wider Berwick Springs community.

Original speech by Jacinta Allan can be found here:

P.S. Do consider signing the original petition to revert the name change of the Berwick Springs Lake.