Investigation probe after vegan protests

Attorney-General Christian Porter calls for investigation of activist group Aussie Farms following abattoir protests.

Attorney-General Christian Porter has asked the Information and Privacy Commission to investigate militant activist group Aussie Farms after their protesters yesterday invaded farms and chained themselves to abattoir equipment across the three states.

It comes just a week after the government announced the Aussie Farms website would be subject to the Privacy Act which was amended to protect Australian farms.

The activist group is under scrutiny after they publicly posted a map and personal details of farms across the country.

The interactive map listed the location of hundreds of rural properties, including livestock farms, meatworks and dairies.

Animal activist group Aussie Farms releases map to track farms.

“There are strong grounds to conclude that Aussie Farms Inc is engaging in a systematic effort in collecting, using and disclosing personal information to the detriment

of farmers and agricultural producers,” Mr Porter said in the to the Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk.

“Further, it would now appear that despite being aware of its prescription under the Privacy Act, Aussie Farms Inc continues to … play a significant role in spreading disruptive protest activity from Australia’s farms to our capital cities.”

Mr Porter also asked the state and territory Attorneys-General and Police Ministers to consider strengthening their criminal trespass laws.

“As a result of an organised campaign from the Aussie Farms group, it has been recently reported that a number of farmers and associated businesses have experienced criminal trespass, intimidation and disruption of their business activities,” Mr Porter said in a letter obtained by The Australian.

About 20 activists from Aussie Farms broke into the Carey Brother Abattoir at Yangan. They stayed there until the operator agreed to free three sheep. No one has been charged or fined by police. Picture: Supplied.

Scott Morrison has urged farmers to take legal action after hundreds of vegan activists launched co-ordinated protests in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

The Prime Minister signalled yesterday that radical activists could face fines of up to $500,000 after protesters chained themselves to equipment in abattoirs and farms.

Mr Morrison slammed the protests as “shameful” and “un-Australian”, throwing his support behind farmers. “I think state and territory governments should ensure the full force of the law is brought against these green-collar criminals,” Mr Morrison said in Brisbane yesterday.

The protests were spearheaded by the makers of animal rights documentary Dominion, which used hidden cameras and aerial drones to investigate animal agricultural practices.

Dominion director Chris Delforce hit back at Mr Morrison and called for an “informed national conversation” about Australia’s meat industry. “I think animal cruelty is un-Australian,” he said. “These businesses depend on animal cruelty, depend on secret. I don’t think they align with Australian values.”

Animal rights protesters block the intersections of Flinders and Swanston Street. Picture: AAP

Melbourne CBD was thrown into chaos when activists chained themselves to three vans at the ­intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets at about 5.30am yesterday. The protest, which resulted in the arrest of 39 people, including two 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old, blocked traffic and trams for about five hours.

In NSW, nine activists were charged with trespass after they chained themselves to a conveyor at a Goulburn abattoir. Police ­arrived about 4am and cut the ­activists free before arresting them. In Queensland, more than 20 vegan activists stormed Carey Bros Abattoir in Yangan, 100km southeast of Toowoomba, at about 3.30am and chained themselves to machinery. The activists left with three lambs after two hours of peaceful negotiations with the abattoir owners.

The local community has been on edge following a series of target activities, with police confirming the major and organised crime unit had been in touch with local farmers.

The Queensland state government on Saturday said it was drafting tough new laws against “new age activism”, but Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said yesterday’s protest proved the legislation was a PR stunt.

“What we have seen in NSW and Victoria is dozens of arrests, but in Queensland all we’ve seen are three sacrificial lambs,” Ms Frecklington said. “The Labor government knew this protest was going to happen and all they did was try to get the front page of the newspaper. What happened at Carey Brothers Abattoirs is a disgrace. We should be coming down on these terrible, disgusting people like a tonne of bricks.”

The Australian Meat Industry Council said the sector was worth $22 billion annually and employed 55,000 people full-time.

CEO Patrick Hutchinson said the activists had put regional jobs at risk. “There is a genuine potential for the sector to be negatively impacted through inability to conduct business or through direct damage to premises,” he said.

Additional reporting: Mackenzie Scott, Richard Ferguson