Tasmania, letting companies sue for defamation is a really, really bad idea

Dear Tasmania, please stop. You're stuffing everything up.

It seems that primary industries in Tasmania hold the government in a vice-like grip. First they persuaded the government that it should pass Draconian antiprotesting laws late last year. Now, they've also convinced the government that it's a good idea to try to unwind uniform national defamation laws and legislate an action for corporate defamation in Tasmania.

Industry players want to fix a legal loophole by which there is not much legal recourse for companies when environmental campaigners peddle misinformation. Unlike the companies, the environmentalists are not usually liable for misleading or deceptive conduct under the Competition and Consumer Act. And there is (currently) no defamation action available to corporations with more than ten employees anywhere in Australia.