John Dutton is a Queensland farmer. Dutton's agricultural interests are controlled by Dutton Holdings, a company incorporated in Queensland. The President of Dutton Holdings is John's daughter Beth Dutton. Due to the development of foot and mouth disease in Australia, except for in Queensland, the Queensland Government passes the Emergency Declaration (Foot and Mouth) Act 2022 (Qld) ('the Foot and Mouth Act'). The Minister for Agriculture states that while measures may appear extreme, they are vital to protect the Queensland cattle industry which is worth over $5 billion and to ensure the health and safety of Queenslanders. The Foot and Mouth Act includes: Section 10 The decision maker may, if satisfied of a threat having regard to a local breakout of the disease inside or outside of Queensland, declare all livestock within a declared area unsuitable for sale within Queensland. John Dutton's livestock test negative. Dutton has 50,000 head of cattle in Darwin that were waiting to be deported before export bans. Dutton wants to bring these cattle to Queensland to be sold, but the Queensland Government has declared the Northern Territory a declared area, closing the Queensland border and preventing Dutton from trading. Dutton faces terminating his cattle at a personal cost of $40 million. The Commonwealth, concerned with rising civil unrest in response to supply shortages, and wild accusations the disease was released by the Commonwealth to control landowners, passes measures under its own National Emergency Declaration 2022 (Cth) ('the Emergency Declaration'). The measures are aimed at ensuring integrity of the upcoming election, quelling civil unrest and a steady supply of important resources. The Emergency Declaration creates a new Emergency Integrity Office ('the Office') and appoints Federal Court Judge Jamie Dutton as its head. The Office is established initially for a period of two years and is tasked with investigating corporations that provide material support to proscribed groups. There is no requirement for the Office to give reasons for its findings, but it must report to and consult with the Attorney General in its deliberations. Provisions of the Emergency Declaration include: Section 5 Organisations that supply material support to a proscribed group are guilty of an offence. The penalty for this offence is $150,000. Section 7 The promotion of material that claims the Commonwealth is in any way responsible for the disease outbreak is prohibited. Persons or organisations that promote this material are guilty of an offence. The penalty for this offence is $10,000. Beth Dutton heads a group called Farmers for the Truth. This group is a proscribed group under the Emergency Declaration. Beth personally endorsed a message that was distributed to 25,000 members on a mail list. Beth used her work computer to send the email and runs the Farmers for the Truth group out of her office at Dutton Holdings. Beth's message stated: 'Make no mistake, the Commonwealth is responsible for this mess. For your suffering, for the lack of food on your table, for the loss of your jobs - this is all down to the failure and inaction of the Commonwealth. Now some have said the Commonwealth released this disease - I'll let God be the judge of that - but now is the time for us to act. Join us, donate, pick up your arms and let's make our voice heard loud and clear this election!' QUESTION Beth and Dutton Holdings have been found guilty of offences under the Emergency Declaration but claim these are the result of a witch-hunt by the Emergency Integrity Office. Advise on any potential issues with the Office.