Page 3311 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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That is why groups like the Law Council are criticising the federal government’s proposed trespass laws.
These laws are likely to impinge significantly on freedom of speech, something that I did once think that the Liberal Party cherished. As the Law Society points out, the laws could stifle legitimate debate about animal rights and food production. They could limit the work of journalists and scare off whistleblowers. Journalists are understandably concerned about these potential threats to their independence, and journalists are already troubled enough by the federal government’s intolerant attitude towards reporting.
I also point out that the whole issue of farm trespass is not particularly relevant to the ACT. As was noted in the earlier debate today about plant-based food, we do not have any intensive farm operations in the ACT, and that is where the farm trespassing has occurred. Of course, I am very pleased that we do not have them. It is because, as I said before, the Greens have campaigned on this for years and years and have passed laws to outlaw those practices. It is a great outcome and something that we are proud of.
There is an actual consequence, as better animal welfare laws help to prevent instances of trespass, because why are the trespassers going there? It is to expose the horrors of intensive farming. It is not for any financial gain or anything like that.
It would be a much more useful and positive response to see politicians focusing on ways to improve farming practices, animal welfare and transparency. This needs improvement. The activists entering farms or abattoirs expose both illegal activities and the horrible realities of intensive farming. They have done the same with the live export industry. Animals Australia discovered disturbing mistreatment of animals that was both shocking and clearly unacceptable to the general Australian public.
These issues are all very troubling, especially considering that the public is actually very interested in animal welfare. I will talk a bit more about that in a moment. I reflect on my own experience as an MLA who has an interest in animal welfare. In the Seventh Assembly, I tried to organise a visit to the battery hen farm operation, because at that time I was contemplating legislation which would have shut down battery cage production in the ACT. However, they refused to let me visit their farm. No-one, of course, has to let me onto their private property—
Mr Wall: But you did not break the law?
MS LE COUTEUR: I did not break the law. I did not visit their farm. No-one has to let me onto their private property, of course, but that episode does give an insight into the secrecy and lack of transparency around intensive farming. It is in these farmers’ interests to keep the general public in the dark about what happens on these farms.
The fact that farm trespassing is not occurring in the ACT also raises an interesting question about the Liberal Party’s priorities and their apparent desire to further regulate where regulation is in fact not needed. I do recall many protests from Mr Coe and his colleagues about limiting regulation, especially when something is not
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