Any time you are stopped by the police in public and they try to ask you questions, you have an absolute right to refuse to answer their questions.
In fact, two High Court decisions and a Magistrate have stated very clearly that the police cannot stop you for any reason unless they have reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime; and this applies to any stop including for RBT. You do not have to answer any of their questions.
The following judgments make it very clear that the police do not have the power or authority to stop you for any reason unless they suspect you have committed a crime.
1. Regina v Banner (1970) VR 240 at p 249 – the Full Bench of the Northern Territory Supreme Court
In this judgement, the NT Supreme Court handed down a ruling that, “(Police officers) have no power whatever to arrest or detain a citizen for the purpose of questioning him or of facilitating their investigations. It matters not at all whether the questioning or the investigation is for the purpose of enabling them to ascertain whether he is the person guilty of a crime known to have been committed or is for the purpose of enabling them to discover whether a crime has or has not been committed. If the police do so act in purported exercise of such a power, their conduct is not only destructive of civil liberties but it is unlawful.”
2. Andrew Hamilton Vs Director of Public Prosecutions – Justice Stephen Kaye – Melbourne Supreme Court ruling – 25 November 2011
“It is an ancient principle of the Common Law that a person not under arrest has no obligation to stop for police or answer their questions. And there is no statute that removes that right. The conferring of such a power on a police officer would be a substantial detraction from the fundamental freedoms which have been guaranteed to the citizen by the Common Law for centuries.”
3. Magistrate Duncan Reynolds – Melbourne – July 2013
“There is no common law power vested in police giving them the unfettered right to stop or detain a person and seek identification details. Nor, is s.59 of the (Road Safety) Act a statutory source of such power.”
NOTE: None of the above precedents have been overturned on appeal or in the High Court. They still stand today and you can point out to the police that they are acting unlawfully if they continue to detain you without due cause to believe you have committed a crime.
When you do answer their questions, you open yourself up to incriminating yourself, even if you have done nothing wrong. So, remember, you do not have to answer their questions…any questions.
When you are pulled over for anything, reply with these four words. Do not say anything else… just this:
I DO NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS.
(Even though this is an American video, we can do the same here in Australia. We are protected by our common law rights in the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and our Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901.)
