Morrison’s plan sparks furore over free speech
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has sparked a furore over free speech by vowing to draft new laws to ban protesters from boycotting companies, prompting claims that this would curb the rights of all Australians.
Civil liberties groups are warning of the ‘‘wanton infringement’’ of individual rights under the plan to stop environmental groups targeting companies that support controversial projects such as the Adani coal mine in
Queensland.
New South
Wales Council for Civil
Liberties president Nicholas Cowdery said Morrison’s plan was ‘‘totally contrary’’ to the right to freedom of expression, and that existing laws could deal with unruly conduct or assault.
Liberty Victoria president Jessie Taylor warned of an ‘‘extraordinary incursion into free speech’’, when the right to protest and boycott was at the heart of most liberal democracies.
The Human Rights Law Centre said the announcement was another sign of an ‘‘undemocratic trend’’ to undermine the right to protest, often ‘‘at the behest’’ of big companies.
Morrison said he was working on legal measures to outlaw the ‘‘indulgent and selfish practices’’ of protest groups that tried to stop major resources projects. He warned of an ‘‘insidious’’ danger to the nation’s economy if the targets grew to include gas projects, abattoirs or airlines.
‘‘We must protect our economy from this great threat,’’ he told a resources industry meeting in Brisbane.
Environmental campaigners have put pressure on banks to halt lending to the Adani mine, while other companies supplying the project with goods and services have also been subject to consumer activism.
Business leaders backed the proposal, and voiced their frustration with groups including Extinction Rebellion, which has brought traffic to a halt at some of its protests recently.
Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Ross Hampton said his industry had been the subject of secondary protest activity for many years. ‘‘When protest actions are hurting innocent Australian businesses, we can’t afford to stand by and let this happen,’’ he said.
However, Mike CannonBrookes, co-founder of software firm Atlassian, said it was Morrison’s plan that was ‘‘selfish and indulgent’’ because it promoted the wants of coal ‘‘barons’’ rather than the many people who wanted action on climate change. ‘‘Protests are because your government is doing nothing meaningful,’’ he said.