3 years ago
CLASS ACTIONS INQUIRY BEGINS
MARK DREYFUS QC MP
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services today holds its first public hearing of the Morrison Government’s inquiry into class actions and litigation funding.
This inquiry is a shameless move towards denying justice and fair compensation to ordinary Australians.
Litigation funding and class actions provide a vital path to justice for Australians trying to uphold and enforce their rights. And yet, in the middle of a public health and economic crisis, the Morrison Government has made the denial of justice to ordinary Australians a priority.
It’s no coincidence this inquiry was first proposed just days after 10,000 victims of the Morrison Government’s cruel and illegal Robodebt scheme signed-up to a class action to enforce their legal rights.
And it’s no accident that the first witness the Liberal-dominated Committee will hear from at today’s public hearing is the Liberal Party’s own “think tank”, the Menzies Research Centre, which is hell-bent on making class actions impossible.
It’s further proof that this inquiry is a sham set up by the Liberals to deny hardworking Australians any chance of defending their rights against large companies and governments with virtually limitless resources.
Australians like the thousands of property owners whose land – and possibly health – was harmed by toxic PFAS chemicals.
Australians like the 1,350 women who successfully sued Johnson & Johnson for negligence in relation to faulty pelvic mesh implants.
Australians like the small business people ripped off by the Michel’s Patisserie franchisor which, according to a Liberal Party-chaired parliamentary committee, had systematically gouged and exploited franchisees.
And Australians like the thousands of victims of the Morrison Government’s cruel and illegal Robodebt scheme.
Labor will always support sensible law reform.
But Labor will never support a Government stacking the deck against ordinary Australians trying to uphold their rights in court.
This inquiry is a shameless move towards denying justice and fair compensation to ordinary Australians.
Litigation funding and class actions provide a vital path to justice for Australians trying to uphold and enforce their rights. And yet, in the middle of a public health and economic crisis, the Morrison Government has made the denial of justice to ordinary Australians a priority.
It’s no coincidence this inquiry was first proposed just days after 10,000 victims of the Morrison Government’s cruel and illegal Robodebt scheme signed-up to a class action to enforce their legal rights.
And it’s no accident that the first witness the Liberal-dominated Committee will hear from at today’s public hearing is the Liberal Party’s own “think tank”, the Menzies Research Centre, which is hell-bent on making class actions impossible.
It’s further proof that this inquiry is a sham set up by the Liberals to deny hardworking Australians any chance of defending their rights against large companies and governments with virtually limitless resources.
Australians like the thousands of property owners whose land – and possibly health – was harmed by toxic PFAS chemicals.
Australians like the 1,350 women who successfully sued Johnson & Johnson for negligence in relation to faulty pelvic mesh implants.
Australians like the small business people ripped off by the Michel’s Patisserie franchisor which, according to a Liberal Party-chaired parliamentary committee, had systematically gouged and exploited franchisees.
And Australians like the thousands of victims of the Morrison Government’s cruel and illegal Robodebt scheme.
Labor will always support sensible law reform.
But Labor will never support a Government stacking the deck against ordinary Australians trying to uphold their rights in court.