Scott Morrison has branded environmental protesters “anarchists” and threatened a radical crackdown on the right to protest in a speech claiming progressives are seeking to “deny the liberties of Australians”.

In a speech to the Queensland Resources Council on Friday, the prime minister said a threat to the future of mining was coming from a “new breed of radical activism” and signalled the government would seek to apply penalties to those targeting businesses who provide services to the resources industry.

Civil society groups, including the Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Greens immediately attacked the proposal as undemocratic and a bid to stifle a social movement fighting for Australia to take action on climate change.

Morrison told Australian corporations to listen to the “quiet shareholders” and not environmental protesters, who he suggested could shift targets from coal companies to all carbon-intensive industries including power generation, gas projects, abattoirs and airlines.

In a speech proposing limits on free speech advocating boycotts against polluting companies, Morrison said progressives wanted to tell Australians “what you can say, what you can think and tax you more for the privilege of all of those instructions”.

He claimed that “progressivism” – which he labelled a “new-speak type term”, invoking George Orwell – intends “to get in under the radar, but at its heart would deny the liberties of Australians”.

“Apocalyptic in tone, it brooks no compromise,” Morrison said. “It’s all or nothing. Alternative views are not permitted.”

He pointed to the “worrying development” of environmental groups targeting businesses or firms involved in the mining sector with “secondary boycotts”, such as businesses refusing to provide banking, insurance or consultancy services.

“They are targeting businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, like contracting businesses in regional Queensland.”

“Let me assure you this is not something my government intends to allow to go unchecked.

“Together with the attorney general, we are working to identify mechanisms that can successfully outlaw these indulgent and selfish practices that threaten the livelihoods of fellow Australians.”

But Morrison admitted the government “can’t force one Australian company to provide a service to another”.

The Greens were quick to reverse the charge of intolerance and level it at Morrison, with acting leader Adam Bandt labelling him “a direct threat to Australian democracy and freedom of speech”.

“The prime minister’s commitment to outlaw the peaceful, legal protest of Australian individuals and community groups reads like a move straight from the totalitarian’s playbook,” he said.

“Instead of getting tough on the climate crisis, Scott Morrison is dismantling democracy.”

In Scott Morrison’s Australia everyday citizens are

- not allowed to protest

- not allowed to boycott or spend money where we want

- not allowed to blow the whistle

- not allowed to report what the government is up to



Next he’ll be telling us how many children we must have.. — Sarah Hanson-Young💚 (@sarahinthesen8) November 1, 2019

The executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said the plan to crack down on boycotts was “deeply concerning”.

“Protest is an essential part of our democracy,” he said. “To protect our democracy and help ensure a better future for all Australians, governments should be strengthening our rights to come together and protest, not weakening them.”

The Competition and Consumer Act already contains civil penalties for secondary boycotts, which target one business in order to prevent provision of goods or services to another, including if they cause “substantial loss or damage” or substantially lessen competition.

However, secondary boycotts for the “dominant purpose” of environmental protection or consumer protection are permitted.

In 2014 the Abbott government considered applying penalties to environmental boycotts. In 2015 the Harper competition review said in the absence of “compelling evidence” on the point it saw no need for change although the exception should be reassessed “if such evidence arises from future boycott activity”.

Earlier on Friday Morrison told 3AW Radio that there is “of course the right to protest in this country” but claimed recent environmental protests in Melbourne were “well beyond the pale” because protesters had allegedly spat at people in business shirts.

“If it’s not OK to have secondary boycotts being run by unions … it’s not OK for environmental, well, they’re anarchist groups … to be able to disrupt people’s jobs, their livelihoods, to harass people as we saw down in Melbourne,” he said.

The chief executive of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Kelly O’Shanassy, said community campaigning was a “legitimate response” voicing the concerns about global heating shared by millions of Australians.

“People protesting in the streets are not the only ones expressing alarm about climate change – the head of the Defence Force, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority have all recently raised serious concerns,” she said.

“To paint this broad community concern as being about fringe-dwelling extremists is an insult to all Australians who want a better future for themselves and their children.

“Politicians have a responsibility to defend our democracy, not degrade it.”