Men of " Straw " !

A twenty five year old activist is facing court charged with releasing a bogus press release bearing an ANZ bank logo that announced that the bank was withdrawing a twelve billion dollar loan to fund the new Whitehaven coal venture.

This immediately wiped hundreds of millions of dollars off the Whitehaven share price.  The loss spread across all sections of society but the most damage was done to " institutional investors " - and that includes the companies that manage superannuation funds.

This young man probably thinks he is aiding the ecological lobby which wants to close the coal mines to stop coal use releasing carbon dioxide, which is one of the factors blamed for global warming.   His court appearance has attracted big numbers of supporters who are demonstrating for his release.

The charge he is facing carries a hefty penalty of a $ 500,000 fine or a ten year gaol sentence.  Neither would do anything to replace the financial losses suffered by innocent people - and  it seems that this activist is a " man of straw ".   It is doubtful if he has the ability to pay any sort of fine, nor to offer any form of compensation for the result of his crime.

This seems to be a tactic used by the " protest " industry.   People of substance join such movements, but are very careful not to actually get involved in illegal activities.   The movement carefully selects volunteers to do the " dirty work ".
These are people devoid of fixed assets who usually own little more than the few dollars in their wallet.  They are therefore immune to fines - and the law seems reluctant to send them to prison.

This tactic will be used again and again,  and the only way it will stop is if a courageous judge hands down a stiff term in prison - and the inevitable flurry of appeals fall on deaf ears.

This bogus press release had exactly the same result as if a man with a gun had held up the country's superannuation funds and made off with hundreds of millions of dollars.   Had that been the case, the courts would throw the book at him !

There is no such thing as an " acceptable crime " when the end result lowers the expectation of a comfortable retirement !