Why on earth do people tall to police. The only 2 things you should ever say:
1. Any questions you which to ask me can be presented to my lawyer in the first instance
2. Am I under arrest? If not this interaction is over.
Not quite as simple here.
There's no complete right to silence as such. The police can demand certain information and you're obligated to provide it. Best response is usually 'I don't remember'
They also have a lawful right to detain you (not arrest) if they're investigating a crime.
You don't have to answer questions that can incriminate you, but the Covid insanity has meant another layer of retardation that the cops will use against you. They can now stop anyone and demand their papers on suspicion that they're in breach of a health order. You have to identify yourself. Breaching a health order is not a criminal offense but they can still lawfully detain you and they will usually cook up some bullshit criminal charge. incitement or breach of peace, that they know won't stand but will allow them to issue bail conditions. Breach bail conditions and they will imprison you. It's perfectly possible here to go to prison for not wearing a mask depending on how much the cops have it in for you.
Currently Monia Smit, an anti-lockdown activist, is rotting away in solitary confinement for refusing to accept these kinds of bail conditions.
A woman charged with incitement and accused of urging people to attend anti-lockdown protests remains in custody despite being granted bail because she refuses to agree to bail conditions imposed by a magistrate.
www.theage.com.au
Aussie cops compared to other Western police forces are more heavy handed, authoritarian and corrupt, that was true before the coof and now thanks to it they got worse. So the hate is not unfounded. Australia in general has always been a nanny state trying to dictate their citizens lives, and now they have the perfect excuse to go full ham.
My experience of Victoria Police is that they're unbelievably lazy and disinterested in actual crime. I've had to report two crimes, one a fraud committed on me and another where my house was broken into. Both times I knew who did it, in the case of the break in I had CCTV footage showing the dude's face lol. The cops didn't give a fuck. I was asked to write down a statement and then I got a phone call a few weeks later telling me the 'investigation' hadn't gone anywhere. It's just how they roll, everyone knows unless there's some political push to 'clampdown' reporting property crimes to the cops is done only for the insurance claim.
Victoria Police are also famously corrupt. Almost every single Police Commissioner over the past half century has ended up resigning in disgrace. Low level links to drug dealers and so on is par for the course. My experience dealing with them, usually traffic stops, is about two thirds polite and professional with a third being rude and surly. As in 'hurry the fuck up you stupid cunt' when it took me more than 5 seconds to find my driving license. Nice.
Anyway don't fuck with them. They can and will issue a beat down and nothing will happen. The mentally ill dude who got his head stomped in and ended up in a coma? Totally appropriate use of force.