The Australian Government's inaction on climate change is one of the points that the report cites as an important subject in the human rights chapter. The report argues that the New South Wales government has violated international law by imposing new laws and sanctions specifically targeting climate protesters.
In NSW, the state government passed laws that could see defendants facing two years in prison as well as financial fines 22 thousand dollars.
But it is not NSW, the only state in Australia that has imposed severe punitive measures on protesters. Sophie McNeill, Australian researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Victoria and Tasmania imposed draconian measures.
“We saw 15 months in prison — eight months without the right to revise the sentence — to people who protested “he said and stressed that such incidents give the wrong message to the Pacific region — a region with authoritarian regimes. Dominic Perrote defended the harsh sentences for protesters saying that citizens should have the right to demonstrate but in ways that do not create anomalies in the pace of everyday life.
In addition, the report claims that the federal government has failed to fulfil Australia's obligations under international human rights law, namely the prevention of further foreseeable damage linked to the climate crisis. McNeill says that although Australia has taken steps to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions, substantial steps should be taken to reduce oil and gas exports.
“Australia,” he said “is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels.”
Related content
