Salmon industry decries ‘open lawfare’ from cashed-up environment groups

Claims environmental groups are cashed up from “unsuspecting inner city donors” to conduct “open lawfare” — with Salmon boss naming three he believes are the biggest culprits.

Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin. Picture: Linda Higginson

Cashed-up Tasmanian environmental groups are using millions in donations to conduct “open lawfare” against extractive industries, the salmon industry and the government claim.

The Bob Brown Foundation has countered by condemning multinational corporations which were “lined up to destroy wild places”.

The Menzies Research Centre report “Open Lawfare” analysed the financial records of Australia’s top 25 activist groups.

It claimed Australia has the second-highest number of climate lawsuits in the world and the nation’s Australia’s top 25 environmental activist groups had combined revenue of $113m in 2015, which has now doubled to $275m.

“In the last five years, Australia has seen an explosion of growth in environmental activist groups and litigation funders,” Menzies Centre executive director David Hughes said.

“Overseas funds have poured into Australia to support actions which capitalise on our low-bar to launch legal proceedings,”

Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin said Tasmanian environmental groups had seen a boom in funding and has ramped up their activism accordingly.

“Every day it seems there is a new stunt, a new AI-generated website, or full-page attack ad in a local paper, and now we know just how much money is flowing into the coffers of these organisations,” he said.

Bob Brown Foundation and Sea Shepherd salmon protest at Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

He singled out the Bob Brown Foundation, The Australia Institute and the Environmental Defenders Office.

“These three organisations have lawyered-up at levels we haven’t seen before in Tasmania to heap pressure on Minister Plibersek to shut our industry down on the west coast, and obstruct investment in other critical Tasmanian industries like renewable energy and mining,” he said.

“The revenue of these three organisations alone has jumped from a cumulative $5.9m per year to an eye-watering campaign war chest of $25.9m per year, in just eight years,” he said.

“Just imagine if they used even a fraction of that funding to invest in the environment and make a real difference.

Bob Brown Foundation spokesman Scott Jordan said someone needed to stick up for environment.

“When the resources of multinational companies combined with the state and federal governments are lined up to destroy our wild places and the species that depend on them, the environment needs champions in the courts. The Bob Brown Foundation is proud to be one of those champions,” he said.

“The Bob Brown Foundation holds governments and corporations to account for breaches of the law, that along with lobbying, protests, public events and letter writing are all part of our campaigns for the environment,” said Scott Jordan, Bob Brown Foundation.

Minister Eric Abetz. Parliament question time. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Eric Abetz backed industry.

“In Tasmania, a consortium of well-funded, lawyered-up activist organisations are attacking salmon jobs on the West Coast, sustainable native forestry, renewable energy projects in the North West and mining in the multi-use Tarkine,” he said.

“There can be no doubt that many of these organisations left their interest in on-ground, practical environmental works behind years ago and are now professionally-run fundraising machines,” said Minister Abetz.

“In Tasmania, these groups use funds raised from unsuspecting inner-city donors on the mainland to undermine regional jobs and stymie investment in projects that would provide renewable energy, sustainably produced timber, or the minerals needed for everyday life.”