Liberals threaten environment office

Liberals threaten environment office

By James Vassilopoulos

Environmental Defenders Offices (EDOs) have been threatened with funding cuts because they are defending the environment.

The EDOs each receive around $70,000 a year from the federal government. They have recently taken the government and corporations to court, winning cases about woodchipping licences in Tasmania and the breaching of logging codes of practice in Victoria.

Australian Conservation Foundation executive director Jim Downey said, "EDOs were established to provide legal assistance to the community to uphold and enforce the law on all matters environmental. If funds are cut, thousands of Australians will have no legal recourse to protect their environment and lifestyles.

"That removes a key element of the democratic rights of citizens and therefore is a human rights issue as well as an environmental issue. EDOs are watchdogs for the public interest ... Any cuts can only be interpreted as muzzling the watchdog."

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the attorney general warned Michael Barker, an EDO board of management member in WA, not to challenge government policy and practice or his office's funding might be cut in the May budget.

From GLW issue 265