Peter Dutton pretends not to know his right from his left. But, as Peter Boyle argues, facts have never been his strong point.
Anti-protest laws
The science has long been in on the climate emergency, yet despite this governments Adani鈥檚 coalmine in Central Queensland, with five or six more set to follow if it goes ahead.
This immediate threat has led Queensland to become a flashpoint for climate activism in recent months.聽
The Queensland Labor government鈥檚 decision to enact new anti-protest laws to protect new coal and gas projects is a reminder of who the government believes it is in power to serve, writes Margaret Gleeson.
On April 19, Alice Wicks locked on to a half-ton barrel, blocking all coal trains heading to the Port of Brisbane for 5 hours.
鈥淚 took this action because I have exhausted all other avenues for demanding action on the climate crisis. The permafrost has melted 70 years ahead of scientist's predictions. We need to act now鈥, Wicks said on July 26.
The recent intimidatory police raids on the ABC and a journalist鈥檚 home for publicising matters of community concern are a wake-up call that press freedoms can no longer be taken for granted, writes Bevan Ramsden.
The High Court in favour of Bob Brown and Jessica Hoyt鈥檚 challenge to the validity of a Tasmanian anti-protest law. The decision is a significant win for forestry and public-interest activists, although it does not go as far as some may have hoped.
The court found the Tasmanian law was unbalanced and unreasonable. However, it affirmed the right of parliaments to target protesters who interfere with business operations.
Three protesters charged under a new section of the NSW Crimes Act have pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing in Mudgee on May 17.
The 鈥淲ollar Three鈥 are challenging the draconian new law aimed at criminalising those who protest at coal and gas mine sites. If convicted they could face a maximum penalty of seven years鈥 jail.
Artist and activist Benny Zable has been wearing a mask at protests throughout Australia for more than 30 years.
His distinctive skull-like gas mask and painted death-bringer costume, atop large black radioactive drums has become an icon of peace, anti-nuclear and environmental movements throughout the country. He is a performance artist who uses his art form to depict a chilling prophesy of nuclear and environmental catastrophe.
Former Greens leader Bob Brown and Hobart nurse Jessica Hoyt began a landmark High Court challenge to Tasmania's draconian anti-protest laws on May 2. The 2014 legislation allows police to stop protests before they even begin on business premises and access areas.
The two were arrested for peaceably protesting against the logging of the Lapoinya State Forest near Burnie on Tasmania鈥檚 north-west coast in January last year. Police dropped the charges against Brown and Hoyt after they began their High Court challenge.
A couple of hundred people rallied outside NSW parliament house and several dozen locked onto its fence in an action advertised as The World's Biggest Lock-on.
The rally was called in opposition to the recently passed anti-protest law that carries up to seven years' in jail for 鈥渦nlawful protest鈥 鈥 such as blockading a CSG drill site.
A broad coalition of forces continues to challenge anti-protest legislation tabled in the Western Australian state parliament.
If passed, the broad powers of the Criminal Code Amendment (Prevention of Lawful Activity) Bill will make it a criminal offence to be in possession of an unnamed 鈥渢hing鈥 or to disrupt "lawful activities". The bill also threatens two year鈥檚 jail and $24,000 fines for impeding lawful activity. Widely criticised by environmental, social justice, and legal campaigners the law smashes free speech and criminalises peaceful protest.
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