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MEDIA RELEASE

Advocacy group condemns use of spies

The Government is being urged to take immediate steps to prevent any further taxpayer funds being used to infiltrate and spy on environmental and animal rights organisations. National animal advocacy group SAFE today referred to the conduct of state-owned enterprise Solid Energy as ‘morally repugnant’ and sought an assurance from the Government that this type of behaviour will be made unlawful.

“SAFE expects the Government to enforce a higher level of accountability and ethical standards from its state-owned enterprises,” says Hans Kriek, SAFE’s campaign director.

“To solicit what were likely to be financially strapped and vulnerable university students to infiltrate and spy on voluntary organisations is at the least morally repugnant and potentially illegal.”

“Most advocacy organisations strive for positive reforms through legal means, be it to protect the environment, animals or people. Large corporations that contract infiltrators to spy on community groups undermine the fabric of our democratic society and discourage people from volunteering for community causes. Volunteers who help a good cause should not feel they are being manipulated and spied upon.”

“The two contracted people that spied on the various groups have passed on information that is the intellectual property of those groups. Those who received, used and benefited from this information are receivers of stolen property and should be held accountable,” says Mr Kriek

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