16 October 2019
Amendments to the Right to Farm Bill are welcome but it still threatens our civil liberties
The Nature Conservation Council will continue to oppose the Right to Farm Bill despite amendments by the government that limit the scope of the anti-protest measures to agricultural land. [1]
“The amendments represent significant progress by the more sober heads in government,” NCC Chief Executive Chris Gambian said
“However, if this bill passes in its current form protesters still face three years in jail and $22,000 fines for peaceful protest on inclosed lands.
“That’s simply unacceptable in a modern democracy where peaceful protest should be protected
“This episode demonstrates the urgent need to legislate the right to peaceful protest, either through this bill or in some other form.”
Mr Gambian said the government must conduct a review of the Inclosed Lands Act, as it is required to by law, before it considers ramping up penalties that were increased 10-fold just a few years ago.
“The government doesn’t even know how many people have been prosecuted under the existing law or whether those penalties have been successful,” he said.
“This bill is a knee-jerk reaction that threatens basic civil liberties for which the practical case has not been made.
“Limiting the application of the bill to agriculture land is welcome, but the definition of agriculture land should be limited to exclude forestry.
“A better approach would be to scrap Schedule 2 altogether – there is no evidence it is needed.”
[1] https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3670/c2019-183C.pdf
Tags
Forests and wildlifePlanning and DevelopmentClimate and energyNSW Parliament
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