In many cases, ecological movements are the only things protecting Australia’s most vulnerable natural environments from devastation. Following record-breaking climate-induced fires and natural disasters, some of these environments are now at risk of never regenerating.

Despite this, the federal government and state governments around the country are introducing sweeping new anti-protest laws. This new wave of harsh penalties and draconian restrictions on demonstrations began after the catastrophic fires of 2019–2020 and can in part be traced back to a News Corp campaign.

Former Greens senator Scott Ludlam spoke to Jacobin about the anti-environmentalist narrative that has been used to justify this crackdown. “The same people who are the source of this extremely effective campaign of disinformation,” he argues, “are also the source of the carbon emissions responsible for climate change.”