NSW government wants to jail people blowing the whistle on animal cruelty

The Coalition government wants to jail people for blowing the whistle on animal cruelty. These aggressive laws threaten three years imprisonment for entering factory farms and showing the world the reality of cruel industrial farming practices.

These laws announced today by the NSW Nationals Leader and Deputy Premier are a cynical play to threaten animal activists and stop them campaigning for greater transparency and cruelty free farming.

Greens MP and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:

“This is the NSW Coalition Government making laws to protect themselves and their corporate mates in the face of growing community opposition.

“Jailing people for having the courage to tell the truth about industrial farming practices strikes at the very heart of what we think of as a free society.

“If these laws pass then our laws will be so skewed that there will be a $4,400 maximum fine for the worst animal cruelty but three years imprisonment for exposing it.

“Any agricultural industry that is so threatened by exposure that it needs government imposed secrecy to exist, is an industry without a social licence.

“The Coalition can legislate all it wants, but people will still protest until the barbaric cruelty of industrial agriculture comes to an end,” Mr Shoebridge said.

Greens MP and Animal Welfare Spokesperson Abigail Boyd said:

“What we see today is just the latest attack on legitimate protest, this time aimed directly at animal welfare activists.

“A one thousand dollar on the spot fine is unprecedented, and is a direct attack on freedom of speech and political expression.

“This Liberal National Government is focused on preventing exposure and scrutiny of the practices of corporate owners of factory farms.

“The more people see the day to day cruelty in the worst offending farm operations, the more pressure there will be to put humane laws in place.

“Activists know that the existing system is not working to protect our planet from catastrophic climate change, to protect animals from systematic brutality or to protect the human rights of citizens and those seeking asylum. We cannot accept further erosion of our democratic rights,” Ms Boyd said.

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

NSW is missing out on tens of billions of dollars. By introducing a progressive coal royalty structure similar to the one in Queensland, we would have raised an extra $20 billion last year.

The NSW Government owns and controls, on behalf of the people of this state, the rights to the minerals and materials that naturally occur in NSW land.

Huge fossil fuel companies are only able to extract and sell these commodities with the consent of the State. It’s time they paid a fair price for that privilege.

The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars out of their cosy relationship with governments. Granted permission to extract and sell coal, these large multinational fossil fuel corporations pay just over 7% in royalties back to the people of NSW – keeping the rest as mega-profits for themselves. These companies have a track record of taking more than their fair share and leaving communities suffering and stranded with poisoned groundwater, devastated landscapes and a stranded workforce when it suits their business models.

Globally, the hyper-inflation of fossil fuel prices driven by price-gouging opportunism and war profiteering from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has delivered record windfall profits to these already obscenely wealthy corporations. In the last year, NSW coal exports totaled over $70 billion dollars, but the people of NSW will only see about 7 cents in every dollar, or about $6 billion dollars of that amount.

Rather than going toward schools, hospitals and public infrastructure, billions of dollars went into the pockets of multinational mining corporations. The Greens believe there should be more money for schools and hospitals and less for mining billionaires.

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Mobile phone

Address (Street, Suburb, State, Postcode)

Country

I want to volunteer

Join with Facebook

Join with Twitter

NSW government wants to jail people blowing the whistle on animal cruelty

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

Join the Campaign

Join 49,851 other supporters in taking action