Dan Sultan has issued a rousing call for Victorians to have their voices heard over the state government's new law that gives police greater power to move protesters on.

Following last weekend's March In March national protest gatherings – of which Sultan attended the Melbourne leg – he has written a Facebook post slamming the new laws, which passed the upper house on Tuesday night.

“The Victorian government is attempting to destroy one of the most important features of any democracy: the right to protest,” he writes.

“WE NEED TO FIRE UP. APATHY IS ONE OF FASCICM'S BEST FRIENDS” - DAN SULTAN

“We as a society are only strengthened by our rights to peacefully assemble and tell the government that not everyone agrees with what they're doing. A democracy is, after all, a political system where the elected representatives are supposed to be the voice of the people, not the tools that help to silence the people.”

Citing marches from the 1988 Aboriginal gathering at Canberra to the music industry's own anti-liquor legislation protest for the SLAM Rally, Sultan says that “It feels like we are taking a step back into the repressive 1950s. The key difference of course is that back then people were allowed to protest. So what does that say about where our elected government is taking us?”

“The time to act is now. People from all walks of life need to stand up and tell the Victorian Government that their attempts to deny us some of the most basic rights of living in a democracy are not only cruel, but also morally bankrupt.

“We need to fire up. Apathy is one of fascism's best friends. And while we do not currently live under a dictatorship, letting our elected leaders run rough shot over us like this is the first step in the wrong direction.”

Read his statement in full below:

From little things, big things grow. I went to the March in March here in Melbourne on Sunday and I felt compelled to write a letter about it. Let's agitate and yell and let our so-called leaders know that we won't take their crap anymore. Spread the word!

Are they serious? Who do they think they're kidding? Did they not get the memo that we here in Australia live in a democracy?

Obviously not.

The Victorian government is attempting to destroy one of the most important features of any democracy: the right to protest.

We as a society are only strengthened by our rights to peacefully assemble and tell the government that not everyone agrees with what they're doing. A democracy is, after all, a political system where the elected representatives are supposed to be the voice of the people, not the tools that help to silence the people.

Throughout history the power to protest has helped shaped culture, legislation and provided hope for a brighter future. Imagine if Martin Luther King and the million people that marched with him in '63 had not had the opportunity to share with the world that he and other people of colour had a dream. Imagine if in 1988, the thousands of Aboriginals who descended on Australia's capital were told to move along and denied the right to tell the nation about our version of what happened 200 years ago, when Europeans first invaded. And more recently, imagine if musicians and music fans alike had not been allowed to take to the streets to point out to our local leaders that the proposed changes to the laws regarding live music and security were not only bad for culture in this state, but they were bad for business. I perish the thought of what Melbourne would have become if the music community had not been allowed to come together and tell our government that they didn't 'get it'.

And now it seems that once again, they don't 'get it'.

The thing that I don't understand is that our elected leaders are supposed to be men and women of learning. They are supposed to be the people in our community who steer us towards a more enlightened future. And yet if these men and women had taken the time to read a little more, they would realise that their attempts to take away our right to peacefully assemble and protest is actually in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is not only embarrassing, but also appalling.

It feels like we are taking a step back into the repressive 1950s. The key difference of course is that back then people were allowed to protest. So what does that say about where our elected government is taking us?

The time to act is now. People from all walks of life need to stand up and tell the Victorian Government that their attempts to deny us some of the most basic rights of living in a democracy are not only cruel, but also morally bankrupt.

We need to fire up. Apathy is one of fascism's best friends. And while we do not currently live under a dictatorship, letting our elected leaders run rough shot over us like this is the first step in the wrong direction.

Don't be complacent Victorians.

In the words of the great Bob Marley: Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights.