Push to ban environmental boycott campaigns
Boycott campaigns are one strategy used by environmental groups to target companies they believe are damaging the environment. They can currently run these campaigns without fear of legal retribution , but that may be about to change. Last week the federal government announced a “root and branch review” of competition law and policy to be headed by the economist Professor Ian Harper. One thing the review will examine is removing the exemption for environmental groups from the ban on so-called “secondary boycotts”.
Coalition MPs and industry groups claim this is necessary to prevent dishonest campaigns that unfairly impact business. But environmentalists are concerned that this represents an attack on freedom of speech and a broader trend of favouring business interests over the environment.