Richard Colbeck
Andrew Nikolic
The federal Liberal Party has declared war on environmental protesters in preparation for the next election.
The Liberal Party federal council unanimously passed a motion at a meeting in Melbourne yesterday that means protesters who target businesses and workplaces would be more likely to go to jail under a federal Coalition government.
The move comes after a string of protests in Tasmania this year from environmental groups Code Green, Still Wild Still Threatened, and Markets for Change relating to the Tasmanian Intergovernmental Forestry Agreement.
The groups have particularly targeted the work sites of timber company Ta Ann and the state’s last woodchipping export facility, Artec.
Tasmanian Senator Richard Colbeck’s motion was seconded by Bass Liberal candidate Andrew Nikolic.
It called on the federal council to ”encourage the Coalition, when in government, to strengthen the law and increase the penalties for wilful economic sabotage of law-abiding businesses”.
Mr Nikolic said the motion was designed to crack down on environmental activists who repeatedly engage in illegal protest.
He said the Northern Tasmanian community, and its mining and forestry industries, were suffering.
Read more in The Examiner here
On Tasmanian Times:
• The Day Andrew Nikolic protested the Protesters:
Police called as Nikolic heckles
• The Day Andrew Nikolic protested the Satire:
Andrew Nikolic and The New Examiner. 48,000 visit New Examiner …
