The High Court of Australia has ruled against Tasmania’s workplace anti-protest laws being used in state forests.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The laws were introduced in 2014 and exercised against former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown during at a protest at a Lapoinya logging site in 2016.
The government had argued at the time the laws protected the rights of workers and protected safe workplaces.
Dr Brown challenged the laws in the High Court, arguing that they were unconstitutional.
The court agreed with this assessment, finding that “the impugned provisions of the Protesters Act effectively burdened the implied freedom of political communication.”
“A majority of the court … declared that the impugned provisions were invalid in their operation in respect of forestry land and related business access areas,” the decision read.
The state was ordered to pay costs.
Premier Will Hodgman said the state government would consider the High Court’s decision.
Mr Brown said the decision backed the fundamental right for somebody to hold a peaceful protest.
“This judgement puts a brake on corporations wanting communities sidelined so they can plunder Tasmania’s unique and job-rich environment, not least its ancient rainforests and tall eucalypts,” he said.