I’ve been a criminal lawyer for two decades, working with Legal Aid NSW and the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT before joining the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO). While at EDO, I defended protesters who couldn’t otherwise access legal representation, mainly because they were never charged with offences they could go to jail for at that time. At one point my phone number was literally written on people’s arms ahead of demonstrations in case they got arrested. The stakes have become so much higher since then, and defenders are now regularly charged with offences that carry custodial penalties. More support became critical and I became increasingly frustrated by how reactive the criminal law was, given the broader context of state repression and silencing of dissent.

I wanted to challenge state overreach proactively, sue police when they abused their powers and confront the narrative that portrays defenders as extremists or eco-terrorists – and take on the representation of defenders when they are hit with SLAPPs. With the support of EDO and Greenpeace Australia Pacific, I spent a year setting up an independent legal service and launched CDA on 1 July 2025, fully philanthropically funded and free from government influence.

Our approach is completely 360 degrees. We provide legal advice before, during and after protests: informing people of their rights, explaining the law, representing them in court if they are arrested and charged and supporting them throughout the entire criminal justice process. We also initiate proceedings against the police when they act unlawfully and challenge repressive laws through strategic litigation.

Beyond criminal cases, we handle SLAPPs used by fossil fuel companies to intimidate activists and civil society organisations and we share information from the legal frontlines with civil society so others can engage in advocacy and lobbying. Since opening, we’ve taken on over 80 cases across every jurisdiction in Australia, showing just how severe and widespread the problem has become, as well as how profound the need for a specialist legal service has proven to be.

The vilification of climate defenders in Australia is deliberate and systemic. I have acted in cases where the prosecution has sought to rely on evidence that was demonstrably untrue. Recently, for example, I was involved in a successful appeal where an activist had been jailed in part on the basis of a false claim that an ambulance had been blocked from attending an emergency. This ‘ambulance trope’ is repeatedly used to discredit activists and justify repression, which is perpetuated by law-and-order-style politicians and the mainstream media.

The rhetoric has become violent: media commentators and politicians have joked about running over protesters or cutting ropes holding up protesters. This normalisation of violence creates real danger. What we’re trying to do is humanise climate defenders and counter these narratives with facts, evidence and stories of who these people really are: everyday people acting out of conscience.

It’s deeply ironic that one of the world’s largest fossil-fuel exporters wants to co-host a global climate summit with the Pacific Island nations that are suffering so acutely from the climate crisis. Australia’s contribution to climate change remains enormous, and yet we continue to see laws that silence those demanding change. If COP31 is held here, likely in Adelaide, which already has some of the harshest anti-protest laws, we can expect even greater restrictions on civic space. I believe the response of the state and law enforcement in this regard will be swift, and we will need to be prepared for it.

We already know that large-scale mobilisations are being planned for 2026. CDA will be the only dedicated legal service supporting climate defenders and their civil society allies during that time. But we need resources to scale up quickly. Hosting COP shouldn’t come at the cost of democracy and dissent, yet that’s exactly the risk we face.

Our main need is sustainable funding. Running a frontline legal service can be more costly than other kinds of organisations, from insurance to salaries, and we want to ensure climate defenders can always access quality representation. But we also rely heavily on solidarity. Sharing strategies across borders helps us learn from others facing the same attacks.

Australia has no federal anti-SLAPP law, no Bill of Rights and no explicit constitutional protection of the right to protest. This makes international collaboration crucial. Anti-protest laws are spreading globally, and we need to face them collectively. What’s happening here is not unique; it’s part of a wider pattern of silencing dissent.