COP26 reinforced that the Australian Government is dragging its feet on climate action. Strong democratic systems and climate advocacy are now more important than ever. A new report by Greenpeace Australia Pacific, the Human Rights Law Centre and the Environmental Defenders Office documents the importance of climate activism in Australia, maps the systemic repression faced by climate activists across the country and examines the unregulated political influence of the fossil fuel industry driving that repression.
The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time. Advocacy and protest are vital to ensuring that the best interests of people, the planet and future generations guide our Government’s response, not the vested interests of the fossil fuel industry.
While powerful corporations can use their money and access to influence government, advocacy and protest are how people and communities build the visibility and awareness needed for change. But in recent years in Australia the ability to advocate for stronger climate action has come under sustained attack, distorting policy and damaging our democracy in the process.
This report makes several recommendations to address the distorting influence of the fossil fuel industry in Australia’s democracy and to enact stronger protections for advocacy and protest rights under Australian law.
Here are some of the ways climate activists are facing repression in Australia:
Political power & influence of the fossil fuel industry
Climate policy is being distorted by the fossil fuel industry’s ability to make large donations within a deeply flawed regulatory regime.
Anti protest laws
There has been a worrying proliferation of new anti-protest laws across Australia which either directly target or disproportionately impact climate activists.
Law enforcement
Activists are facing onerous bail conditions and excessive penalties for peaceful protest action.
Stifling civil society
Charities who facilitate climate activism have been threatened with deregistration.
Targeting activism with litigation
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are used as a tool in an attempt to silence climate activists.
Corporate surveillance and direct infiltration of activist groups
Fossil fuel corporations and Australia’s governments have long engaged in the surveillance and infiltration of Australian climate activist groups and are rarely held to account.
