Michaelia Cash’s complaints against the bill seem two fold – one that protest will cause inconveniences – which, yes, is the point. And two, she assumes that if protest is protected to the extent David Shoebridge and the Greens are aiming for, then everyone will choose to protest every time their coffee isn’t served right, and start burning cars in the street.

It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of why people protest and what they hope to achieve. The idea that protest is only allowed if it is convenient and doesn’t actually get in anyone’s way or put anyone out is ridiculous. This sanitised idea of protest is one which has taken hold in recent years, leading to poll results like this. Given the hundreds of thousands of people who are turning out across the country, which has forced the government to start paying attention, perhaps they didn’t “fail dismally” after all.