We are used to seeing them on the nightly news. The ubiquitous protest group with it's banners and hand held signs at the forefront of a public rally or actively blocking access to the site of a proposed mine or an exploratory gas well.
They are usually referred to as "Greenies ", but they term themselves as "Environment warriors " and they have developed the expertise to delay countless projects that would expand the economy - and provide jobs. They seem determined to shut down all existing mines and allow no new developments, and their special hatred is directed at the emerging coal seam gas industry.
What is frightening is the tactical skills a small, close knit group of the same people have put together to marshal public opinion and draw the public behind perceived grievances which is many cases defy reality. They have become expert at lodging legal challenges that exploit the fine points of the law and their objectives are to create endless delay. When they can delay the start of a project it costs the developer money - and this saps the will of the share buying public.
Breaking the law is no obstacle to achieving their ends and they are very vocal in demanding that prosecutions be dropped. One of their clan issued a bogus press release that seriously damaged the stock price of a coal mining company and could have brought a serious prison sentence. They quickly organized a chanting, sign waving mob outside the court and intimidated the judge into bringing down a soft sentence - and then hailed this criminal as a hero.
In most cases, the hard core of this protest movement started out as very ordinary people with a genuine grievance against some issue that they personally found offensive, but once started the "movement " created a world of it's own. The proximity to other, like minded zealots drew a cumulative strength that creates the same form of fanaticism often found in religion. The end justifying the means becomes a cachet !
Unfortunately, this type of "activism "is contagious - and the end result is a form of industrial ebola ! It has spread to the animal rights movement and we are now seeing activists infiltrating everything from the egg and poultry trade to overseas abattoirs to try and shut down caged hen egg production and stop the live trade in sheep and cattle.
The timber industry is finding it almost impossible to get approval to log areas to supply the nation's sawmills and this has devastated rural job opportunities. Timber harvesting is a regrowth industry. A well managed forest follows a pattern of selective felling and replanting that should deliver the best of both worlds. This Greenie movement is opposed to all harvesting of any form of timber.
It seems that nothing escapes the ire of the truly dedicated environmentalist. Millions of dollars have been wasted trying to force people out of their cars and onto bicycles, with the result that parking has been reduced to provide unused bike tracks in the inner city. Many council building by-laws force wasteful design requirements to satisfy Green agendas - but do little to deliver practical benefits for home owners.
What the general population needs to keep in mind is that Australia needs to earn a living to enable it to keep providing the standard of living we take for granted. It is industry that provides the jobs that deliver pay packets - and without those pay packets civilization as we know it is impossible.
We need to think long and hard - and weigh up the balance - before we express an opinion on the screams and wails from the environment movement in opposition to some new development proposal. Just about every form of development has benefits - and consequences. A balanced judgement divides the acceptable from the unacceptable. This Greenie movement provides only one side of that story.
As things stand, the welfare of Australia seems to be riding on the tactics of a small group of familiar faces who are present wherever the "anti-everything mob " decide to hold a rally. Much of their persuasive oratory needs to be taken with a grain of salt - and the "facts "put forward challenged.
Meek acceptance risks making Australia an uncompetitive world country !
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