Liberal Party launches frightening attack on free speech and free markets

The Tasmanian Greens said a Liberal Party plan to ban environmental groups from communicating with international companies was a frightening attack on free speech, and on free markets.

Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said that Tasmanians can expect more extreme ideological attacks from the Liberal Party at both the state and federal level, which is showing signs of having lurched to the far right under Tony Abbott.

“To say that environment groups should face punishment for simply expressing a view in the international markets is a very, very scary thing to be proposing,” Mr McKim said.

“This is a sign of things to come from the Abbott government, and it’s a sign of things to come if a Hodgman Liberal majority government is elected to power at the next state election.”

“It’s a frightening and unprecedented attack on free speech, and it’s an attack on the freedom of the markets.”

“The Liberal Party doesn’t seem to get it that markets need access to this type of information to function effectively.”

“If the Liberal Party thinks it has a right to censor what information companies are allowed to receive, then you can be guaranteed there will be an embarrassing international backlash.”

“These companies are smart enough to make up their own minds about who is telling the truth about the products being sold on international markets.”
Nick McKim MP Greens Leader