The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) is calling for comprehensive protections for people involved in public interest advocacy.
Its report Stop the SLAPP report: Protecting Free Speech in Australia, released this month, looks at the rise of Strategic Litigation Against Public Litigation (SLAPP) and recommends laws to protect people against “lawfare”.
In the report’s foreword, environmentalist and former Senator Bob Brown said the report was an important guide on how Australia should pass laws to outlaw “outrageous, anti-social behaviour by vested interests”.
“Legal bullying of ordinary Australians as well as community groups, by big corporations with ‘attack-dog’ law firms, is on the rise,” Dr Brown said.
“The bullies are mostly aggressive billionaires or rich companies which can tax-deduct their legal costs while threatening citizens with bankruptcy or the closure of their community organisation.”
The report looks at the 2004 “Gunns 20” case, where Dr Brown was among the prominent environmental figures sued by the logging company, as well as other cases involving Santos, Clubs NSW, AGL Energy and Aldi.
It also examines key principles of anti-SLAPP laws and makes recommendations to the Federal Government.
Read the report here.
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