Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters) Share this | Hansard source

It's great to be rising in support of this legislation today, because this legislation is a choice for this parliament and for this Senate about whose side they're on, whether they're on the side of hardworking, law-abiding farmers who are producing food and fibre for our nation or whether they're on the side of the vegan terrorists. The Greens have made it clear they are on the side of the vegan terrorists, as we would expect.

This bill delivers on an election promise made by the Morrison government. I wanted to take a moment, before I get into the detail of the bill, to reflect on that election of which this promise was one part of. At the election, the Australian people were faced with a very clear choice. On one hand they had the Liberal-National government that said to them that, if they got out and had a go, they would get a go and the government would support them.

At the election, the Australian people were faced with a very clear choice. On the one hand they had the Liberal-National government, who said to them that if they got out and had a go they would get a go and the government would support them. It was a choice between a government that was fundamentally on their side and the Labor-Greens opposition dominated by inner-city elites who planned to whack them with nearly $400 billion of additional taxes and whose unrealistic, uncosted renewable energy targets would have smashed manufacturing in this country, smashed agriculture in this country and driven our costs of living through the roof. Of course, the people made a decision to back in a government that would back them, rather than a Labor Party who, with their Greens partners, sneered and thought their hard work and aspiration was something to be punished.

Having received this endorsement, the government are now getting on with the job of delivering upon these commitments we made to the Australian people, and we've been delivering in spades. In just a few short sitting weeks we've delivered on commitments to the Australian people. We've delivered on the tax cuts that we promised in the budget back in April and that we took to the election in May and which we then legislated in July—5½ million Australians have already received the benefits of those tax cuts flowing into the economy. And of course we have seen the challenge for the Labor Party in deciding whose side they're on in dealing with tax cuts. They couldn't make a decision. They were against tax cuts right up until the moment they got through the parliament, where there were enough numbers without the Labor Party, and then they decided they were for the tax cuts.

We see again the Labor Party faced with a choice: whether they are on the side of the vegan terrorists or whether they are on the side of law-abiding farmers. The Greens have made it clear, to their credit, that they are on the side of vegan terrorists. That's very clear from the contributions they've made. We wouldn't expect anything less. The Labor Party seem to be having a bit of an existential crisis on this. They have said they are going to support this bill, and we acknowledge that. We are grateful that they are supporting this bill. But it was very interesting to read in The Australian today that apparently the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Albanese, had to make it clear to some of his caucus, perhaps Senator Carr or others, that the Labor Party are actually not the party of vegan terrorists. It's good news. The Labor Party apparently are not a party of vegan terrorists. It doesn't appear to be a clear majority view within the Labor Party. It appears to be something that they are quite conflicted on. Perhaps Senator Carr can tell us whether he is on the side of vegan terrorists and whether his party is the party of vegan terrorists. But it is quite extraordinary. You can imagine in the caucus meeting Mr Albanese saying to his colleagues, 'No, that's really not what we're about; we are not about supporting vegan terrorists,' and others in the faction saying, 'I don't know; I think maybe we should support vegan terrorists.' So the Labor Party are having this existential crisis where they have to decide which side they are on, whether it's on economic issues, whether it's on national security or whether it's on simple, common-sense law and order that farmers and their families should not be subjected to this kind of disgraceful attack from a small number of activists in our community putting them under threat.

This goes to the premise of this bill. This bill delivers on the Liberal-National government's commitment to back in Australians. In this case, we are backing in Australian farmers and primary producers by introducing new criminal offences to protect them from the unlawful action of animal activists. Over the past few years, we've seen militant animal rights activists and others trespass onto legitimate businesses, including farms, which in many cases are family-run small businesses and family homes. Many of these activists have engaged in property damage and theft of livestock as well as food contamination and other biosecurity breaches. Above all else, they make famers and their families feel unsafe on their land and in their homes doing their business. Farmers and other primary producers are a vital part of the Australian economy, our society and our community, and they deserve our protection so that they can go about their business free from harassment and threats of harm.

This reprehensible conduct has been enabled, encouraged and facilitated by a number of groups sharing personal information online, including names and addresses of farmers. These are farmers who, in the vast majority of cases, do nothing wrong. These are farmers who, in the vast majority of cases, care much more for the welfare of their animals than most other people.

This bill introduces new offences for the incitement of trespass, property damage or theft on agricultural land. The first offence relates to incitement of trespass on agricultural land. It would make it an offence for a person to use a carriage service to transmit, make available, publish or otherwise distribute material with the intent to incite another person to trespass on agricultural land. A person guilty of this offence would face up to 12 months imprisonment. The second offence is a more serious offence; it deals with incitement to commit property damage on agricultural land. Where a person uses a carriage service to transmit, make available, publish or otherwise distribute material with the intent to incite another person to unlawfully damage or destroy property or commit theft on agricultural land, they will be guilty of an offence and face up to five years imprisonment.

Let's not be under any misconceptions here. It is already a serious offence for individuals to commit trespass on agricultural land. It is already an offence for a bunch of inner-city activists to jump on a bus and launch a commando raid on a family farm. It is also already an offence for them to break and enter. The problem is that, over the last little while, we've seen personal information—names, addresses and other personal details of farms, abattoirs, feed lots, saleyards and many other lawful businesses across Australia—published on a map on the Aussie Farms website. Many of these places of business are also homes to families—homes where children sleep and play—and it is absolutely disgusting that animal activists and others would invade these spaces in some sort of crusade.

I have raised concerns with the Aussie Farms group in the media. They have charitable status and so receive some of the same generous tax concessions as legitimate charities like Vinnies, the Salvos, the Fred Hollows Foundation and so many others doing an amazing job in our community. As many would know, the government is working on a response to the ACNC review, which will be released shortly. What I will say, however, is that, as we look at that, we need to consider some of these issues with groups like Aussie Farms and Save the Tarkine coalition—whom my colleagues from Tasmania would be well acquainted with—whose operations involve criminal trespass and the incitement of criminal trespass on private property. The sabotage of legitimate businesses constitutes an abuse of the privileged position that charitable organisations have in Australia. I've raised my concerns about Aussie Farms with the charities commissioner. Political activists and organisations condoning criminal activities masquerading as charities corrode Australians' trust in charities overall.

What Aussie Farms has demonstrated is the potential for the internet to be used by activists to incite others to commit trespass and property offences on agricultural land. Therefore, it has prompted this stronger action to deter those who incite this sort of behaviour. That's why, earlier this year, the government prescribed the Aussie Farms website as an organisation regulated by the Privacy Act. Farmers and primary producers can now make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. In April the OAIC announced it was conducting inquiries to establish whether or not Aussie Farms was operating in compliance with the Privacy Act, and I look forward to its conclusion.

It is worth noting that the bill includes specific exemptions for journalists and lawful whistleblowers. The provisions of this bill will not apply to a news report or current affairs report that is in the public interest and is made by a person working in a professional capacity as a journalist. These two tests—the public interest test and the test of working in a professional capacity as a journalist—will ensure that organisations who incite trespass cannot masquerade as journalists. These offences will not apply to a whistleblower who makes a public interest disclosure in accordance with existing whistleblower laws such as the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the whistleblower provisions in the Corporations Act or the various other mechanisms in state and territory law. Whistleblowers will be able to continue to report on animal cruelty, including online, provided they do so in accordance with existing laws. Neither do these laws in any way inhibit freedom of speech and freedom of political communication, provided those rights are exercised without incitement to trespass or damage property.

Let's not be under any misapprehensions here. We saw in the consideration of this bill by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee many examples of some pretty disgraceful behaviour on the part of so-called animal rights activists in their crusade against good, decent and honest people going about their lawful business. We heard from Mr Ean Pollard, a pork producer in New South Wales, whose property was attacked by activists in the middle of the night in Easter of 2013—then came the abusive phone calls, emails and letters. We heard stories of farmers sending their families away from the farm prior to an attack by animal activists, because they didn't feel it was safe to keep them there and that there was nothing to guarantee their safety. We heard of farmers terrified of leaving their elderly parents at home. This sort of behaviour from vegan terrorists and other so-called animal activists is absolutely unacceptable, and I'm glad that we're acting against these kinds of extremists.

The simple fact of the matter is that the government has a duty to do what it can to protect lawful businesses from unlawful disruption and damage not only for economic reasons but because these sorts of attacks have pretty devastating personal effects and personal impacts on the victims. The government has a duty to ensure that people going about their lawful business are protected and to ensure that carriage services are not misused. This legislation underpins a range of other carriage service offences already in the Criminal Code that complement state and territory laws.

This does come down to whose side we're on. The Liberal-National government has made it very clear that we are on the side of those quiet Australians. We are on the side of, in this case, Australian farmers going about their lawful business. They should not be subjected to these kinds of disgraceful attacks. We shouldn't be giving encouragement to these vegan terrorists. The Labor Party are going to have a make a decision in the long run on where they land on these issues. I'm glad that we're going to be receiving their support for this bill today, as much as they are seeking to have two bob each way as they deliver that support, and I commend this outstanding bill to the Senate.