Taxpayers ‘deserve better’: Labor puts top climate lawyers on notice

Australia’s leading environmental legal service could be stripped of Commonwealth funding as Resources Minister Madeleine King warns taxpayers deserve a “higher standard of conduct” following a second high-profile courtroom defeat against oil and gas giant Santos.

The Environmental Defenders Office, a non-profit group funded by a mix of donations and government grants, has been under intense scrutiny since a 2024 Federal Court ruling found it had coached Indigenous witnesses and presented “confected” evidence in a botched attempt to block a Santos pipeline in the Timor Sea.

Pressure on the organisation intensified this month after the court dismissed on all grounds a separate, four-year “greenwashing” legal challenge alleging Santos had been deceptive in branding itself as a “clean energy” producer with a credible pathway to reach net zero emissions.

The dismissal has galvanised the organisation’s staunchest critics in the resources sector, who say it reinforces their long-held concerns that some green groups and their legal advocates were weaponising the legal system to pursue anti-fossil fuel agendas.

In her sharpest criticism of the Environmental Defenders Office to date, King warned the group was falling short of community expectations and failing to respect its mandate.

“Community legal centres are not political campaign vehicles – they are there to provide legal services to the community, nothing more,” she said.

“I have been deeply concerned at comments made by the Federal Court in relation to the conduct of the EDO, which included allegations of witness tampering and confecting evidence.”

The organisation’s future hangs in the balance as the Albanese government weighs its options before the May federal budget. The government has committed to fund it from 2026 onwards with $2.6 million a year.

Former opposition leader Peter Dutton last year promised to defund the Environmental Defenders Office if the Coalition formed government. The Albanese government did not match his pledge, but another funding injection will be required in the upcoming budget, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has instructed all his ministers to find savings in their portfolios.

Resource corporations and trade unions have stepped up calls for a crackdown on what they call environmental “lawfare” – activist groups exploiting green and red tape to secure injunctions over mining and energy projects that have already gained necessary permits.

However, Labor also faces pressure to do more to protect the environment, limit emissions and ensure fossil fuel companies are held to account.

King said the community was “right to demand a higher standard of conduct” and warned the Environmental Defenders Officer must quit its political activism as it tries to rebuild its depleted funds following court orders to cover more than $10 million in defendant costs.

“Public confidence depends on organisations like the EDO staying within their proper role,” she said.

Climate campaigners and legal experts believe the greenwashing case against Santos, even though it was dismissed, will force significant improvements in corporate climate responsibilities. The legal service’s chief executive Jo Shulman said it was an “important case to run”.

“The court’s lengthy decision raised important points of public policy,” Shulman said. “We are proud to provide Australians and community groups with access to the justice system.”

Environmental advocacy group Australian Conservation Foundation said the legal service delivers crucial scrutiny of powerful companies and their impacts on nature.

“Groups like the EDO are so important because they represent communities that stand up to well-resourced, powerful corporations,” the foundation’s campaigns director Paul Sinclair said.

“Environmental litigation is a good thing for Australia. It protects nature, makes our laws stronger and holds corporations to account.”

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