Victoria’s activist trespass laws “hollow”
The state’s farm trespass and animal activists laws have been called a “slapped over the wrist with a rotten lettuce leaf” after a lack of court-imposed penalties.
The Allan Government’s promise to get tough on farm trespass and animal activists’ breaches of Victoria’s biosecurity laws, appear to have been nothing more than a “hollow” promise, says the Opposition.
More than two years after enacting the Livestock Management Amendment (Animal Activism) Bill 2021, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes told parliament this month there had been no infringements issued for trespass.
Asked by Eastern Victoria Nationals MP Melina Bath if any court-imposed penalties had been imposed for biosecurity breaches, Ms Symes dodged the question by simply stating “no infringements have been issued”.
In April last year, seven Farm Transparency Project animal activists were arrested for allegedly breaking into C.A Sinclair’s Benalla abattoir.
Victoria Police confirmed the activists were charged and a brief prepared.
But as for the outcome a Victoria Police spokesman said: “We don’t monitor outcomes and or results once matters are at court”.
Without knowing the names of all activists, it is almost impossible to determine whether they were penalised by the court.
Ms Bath said the livestock industry needed to know the outcome of these cases and that activists who engaged in trespass and biosecurity breaches were held to account.
“It cannot be just hollow legislation,” Ms Bath said.
When the former Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas introduce the Animal Activism Bill in 2021, she said: “Farmers and the agricultural industry should be able to do their work without fear of being targeted by animal activists”.
“This sort of activity is highly distressing for farming families and puts the biosecurity and safety of the animals that activists purport to protect at risk.”
The activism Bill was introduced in response to the parliamentary inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture, which made 15 recommendations, of which the Labor Government supported 13, including on-the-spot fines and penalties for trespass and biosecurity breaches.
Victorian Farmers Federation livestock councillor Peter Star said activists needed to be held to account, “not slapped over the wrist with a rotten lettuce leaf”.
He said farmers, as much as anyone else, had the right to privacy and to go about their business and not be harassed by animal activists.
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