Workforce Invasion Laws Working

The Hodgman Liberal Government’s ground-breaking laws to protect Tasmanian workers and workplaces from radical protesters in the workplace are working.

I am very pleased that since their introduction no charges have been laid. This is because there have been no workplace invasions.

The laws have worked to deter; just as we intended. This vindicates our policy.

It is telling that today even the radical environmental groups have admitted that they haven’t undertaken any workplace invasions of late, and that two of the most extreme groups, Still Wild Still Threatened and the Huon Valley Environment Centre, have folded.

We have always said this was never about limiting the right to freedom of speech or protest; it is about those few protesters who cross the line and seek to force their will on to others by stopping work.

A clear message has been sent to radical protesters, to the workers in the forest and mining industries whose livelihoods they have tried to destroy, and to the wider community.

No longer will Tasmania tolerate the extremists; you may have your say but you may not stop workers from earning a living.

It should never be forgotten that Labor, the party who used to claim to protect the worker, voted against these laws.
Paul Harriss, Minister for Resources