The Green scare hits Australia

With the Herald Sun and The Age hyping a threat by the Earth Liberation Front against the Hazelwood power station's boss it looks like we now have the equivalent of the 1950's red scare going on. Death threats are something that are sent to public figures everyday, but rarely reported. In this case the government and coal companies are attempting to smear anyone opposing coal and particularly those who use direct action. I'm sure that with the weekend's protests and the government's useless legislation about to be defeated that the ALP and their polluting pals are more than happy to shift the focus to these antics.

Some may recall that the police falsely blamed "eco-terrorists" in the 1990s when Coode Island caught fire. No one in the Green movement was ever charged and it later came out that it was corporate cost cutting that caused the disaster, but the police successfully shifted attention onto environmentalists who then had to waste their time dealing with the allegations. Similar situations have also occurred in forest campaigns where "well timed" tree spiking has derailed the messages of blockaders.

I'm not saying that someone using the name of the ELF! isn't involved in this action, but it is certain that the government and coal industry will hype it out of all proportion to serve their ends. This may include harsher laws to deal with the non-violent lock-ons and other protests that will be coming up over the next few months. I urge people to get onto the Herald Sun website, call talk-back radio, etc and point this out for the ruse that it is.

-Bob Dobbs

UPDATE 11:15am GREEN activists are under pressure to dob in eco-terrorists who threatened the Hazelwood power station's boss.

The Brumby government has warned the extremist Earth Liberation Front can't be taken lightly with the FBI ranking them as the biggest domestic terrorist threats in the United States.

That State has also hinted tougher eco-terror laws could be on the cards in response to the terror threat.

Energy and Resources Minister Peter Peter Batchelor said today he would be "asking the Victorian Government to make sure we’ve got adequate laws to deal with these type of activities".

Any move is likely to win support from the major parties, with the State Opposition also calling for wants tighter security at power plants after the threat to station CEO Graeme York.

Mr Batchelor said this was a “real threat'' and that everything will be done to protect Mr York and his family after the letter was delivered to his house in Melbourne's outer suburbs.

Mr Batchelor described the personal attack on Mr York as “unacceptable'' and a worrying development.

What do you think of the ELF's actions? Have your say here

“This a direct escalation of the invasion of power sites that has been taking place in recent times - directly threatening the people that make operational decisions.

"It is totally unacceptable to invade power plants or to threaten management at their homes or invade the city offices of power plants,'' he said.

“We want the Victorian police to bring down the full weight of the law on the sort of people making these threats.''

Mr Batchelor said the green movement in Victoria must show that it respects the law and identify those people that have threatened Mr York.

“Victorian power supplies are threatened by these sorts of actions,'' he said.

“There has been a steady and systematic escalation of environmental actions against our power supplies... it is unacceptable for the protest movement to put utility supplies at risk.

"It doesn't matter if it is gas, electricity or water citizens deserve to have an uninterrupted supply.

" We ask the environmental movement to very rapidly identify the people who made this threat and tell the Police who they are.''

The surge in environmental protests shutting down facilities has also forced the federal government to look at boosting penalties for eco-vandalism and eco-terrorism.

Power boss in terror threat

The comments come after the Herald Sun this morning revealed the extremist Earth Liberation Front secretly visited the eastern suburbs home of Hazelwood power station boss Graeme York and hand-delivered a menacing letter.

Police are investigating.
Shadow Attorney-General Robert Clark said today there had been three invasions at Victorian power stations by environmental extremists in recent months.

"They’ve been let off without conviction or with just fines," he told 3AW.

"We’ve got to ramp up the penalties on people who do things like that.

"If you take a step out of a line at an airport and breach airport security you’re up for a very serious penalty indeed and we’ve got to do similar things at our power plants."

Mr Clark said new laws were needed.

"These guys have just been let off, as I say, without conviction or with small fines, and that’s not acceptable, but we’ve also got to stop them getting in there in the first place, and the fact that Peter Batchelor wasn’t even told about this latest problem shows that our security’s not up to scratch," he said.

The hand-delivered letter to Mr York reads: "The irreplaceable and precious eco-systems of this Earth are worth much more than your manicured lawn, expensive car and opulent suburban house.

"Your property will not remain safe so long as Hazelwood continues to pollute at such an inexcusable level, swallow millions of litres of fresh water every hour and cough out hydrochloric and nitrogen acids in return."

Police confirmed they were investigating and sources said they were taking the threat seriously.

The extremist group has a record of following up on threats in the US, where it is suspected of torching dozens of homes, car yards and timber yards.

A police source said delivering the letter to Mr York's home was a form of intimidation, much more menacing than posting it to his office.

"It's saying: 'We know where you live. We know your car. We know you've got a family'," the source said.

Details of the letter are posted on the eco-terrorists' website.

"Dear Graeme," the letter opens. "As the Chief Executive Officer of Hazelwood power station, you are responsible for the dirtiest power station in Australia and the most polluting in the industrialised world.

"You are causing irreversible environmental destruction which will go on to harm not only those living on the planet today, but your children's children too.

"We hold you personally accountable for this assault against our Earth. We do not take lightly to the perpetual destruction of our land-base for the selfish and short-term objective of fattening your bank account."

The eco-terrorists boast of causing $150 million destruction in their crusade to protect the environment.

Their website shows photos of a burnt-out SUV dealership, a torched Hummer and wrecked earth-moving machinery.

They claim to have committed attacks in 17 countries and pledge to cause maximum economic damage.

Some ELF members have been jailed for the destructive attacks.

Established in England in the 1990s, Earth Liberation Front operates without a formal leadership structure.

The sprawling Hazelwood complex, in the Latrobe Valley, is one of the state's biggest providers of coal-powered electricity.

Last month, 14 Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a dredger to get their point across.

The power plant is supplied by a mine, which produces 18 million tonnes of brown coal a year.

Hazelwood, which is owned by International Power, employs about 800 workers.

Mr York could not be contacted for comment.

A spokesman for International Power said the matter was in the hands of police.

Little is known of ELF's activities in Australia, but there are suggestions it threatened the head of a major corporation last year.