Aussie Farms vows to go to High Court over new anti-activist laws

Animal activist group Aussie Farms has vowed to protect its controversial website at all costs, after new federal laws, which could see its director face jail time, passed parliament.

Aussie Farms executive director Chris Delforce has told The Weekly Times he will go all the way to the High Court to protect his controversial site from being altered or shut down. Picture: Aaron Francis

ANIMAL activist group Aussie Farms has vowed to go all the way to the High Court to avoid having its website shut down, after new federal laws promising jail time for activists passed parliament.

“We will not be removing or altering the Aussie Farms site or map and unless ordered by a court there is no authority that can force its closure,” Aussie Farms executive director Chris Delforce told The Weekly Times.

“If we are charged for merely publishing footage or information (including the map) about animal cruelty, we will fight it all the way to the High Court and there is a strong precedent that we will win.”

The new laws, which were given the green light last week, make it illegal to use a carriage service, such as the internet, to incite trespass, property damage or livestock theft, with penalties of up to 12 months and five years jail time respectively.

Mr Delforce said the legal pursuit would likely be funded through crowd-funding and was confident there would be “no shortage of lawyers” willing to take on the case at a “substantially discounted rate”.

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Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said activists engaging in trespass and theft were not protesters, but criminals who “deserve to be punished”.

“(The laws) send a clear message to animal activists that if you use the personal information of family farmers to incite trespass then you will be risking imprisonment of up to five years,” she said.

“Australians expect the farmers who feed and clothe us — and many millions around the world — should not be harassed, or worse, as they go about their work.”

Aussie Farms is also under investigation for allegedly contravening with the Privacy Act.