Punish Greens fraudsters

Subsequent efforts to alter public opinion, such as indoctrinating school children into accepting the environmental agenda and tiring a protest-weary general public into acquiescing to the extreme green point of view, translated into the gradual infiltration of the original anti-foresters into houses of parliament.

The counterintuitive emergence of wealthy green patsies, such as Graeme Wood and Jan Cameron, led to unprecedented funding for the Greens not to mention the unconscionable act of buying the Triabunna woodchip mill for the purpose of closing it down.

The consequence of the unrelenting campaign by extremists to clamp down on timber production is the state of Tasmania has been diminished to that of a mass shrubbery, with residual eco-tourism activities on the side acceptable to the greens' expectations.

With an underlying world view that any productive activities which add value to natural resources is sacrilegious, the environmental campaigners have wandered from the dark, locked-up-by-regulation forests onto the plains of rural and remote Australia to repeat their anti-development mayhem against mining.

Just as their compatriots did in Tasmania, the green extremists have been fond of chaining themselves to railways and port infrastructures attached to coal and iron ore mines, blocking access to mining company-owned vehicles and other equipment, and unfurling anti-mining banners across bridges, buildings and other public places in the capitals.

The white-anting of Whitehaven's share price by Jonathan Moylan was applauded by the likes of Greenpeace as a new twist on the age-old protest movement adage of 'sticking it to the man.'

The immediate problem here is that the man, Nathan Tinkler, has by virtue of being the company's largest shareholder provided the company with equity finance assisting it in its endeavours to build a capital and employment base, benefiting thousands of men and women both directly and indirectly.

The broader problem is that this episode signals to the global mining investment community of the risks of attack by wilful anti-mining agitators against prospective ventures in Australia.

So, what is to be done?

In the first instance fraudulent activities of the nature conducted by Moylan ought to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and there have been reports suggesting the Australian Investments and Securities Commission is presently investigating the matter.

But there are also broader issues that must be confronted.

Companies should take a more willing stand against environmental NGOs and other extremist groups who demand that they exercise 'corporate social responsibility' or cough up some 'social license' to exist.