A COALITION of environmental activists has developed an extraordinary secret plan to ruin Australia's coal export boom by disrupting and delaying key projects and infrastructure.
The strategy includes mounting legal challenges to up to a dozen key mines and exploiting the Lock The Gate movement against coal-seam gas to put pressure on governments to block mining.
A funding proposal for the Australian anti-coal movement, obtained by The Australian, declares that 2012 and 2013 are critical years to stop tens of billions of dollars of investment and says the aim of the strategy is to "disrupt and delay" projects "while gradually eroding public and political support for the industry and continually building the power of the movement to win more".
The document - which is believed to have been written by Greenpeace Australia Pacific's John Hepburn and CoalSwarm's Bob Burton - issues a call to arms for coal activists nationwide before the March 24 Queensland election and the next federal election.
The document names philanthropic consultant Sam Hardy and a foundation set up by Wotif founder and Greens donor Graeme Wood on the cover. It's believed Ms Hardy was consulted on some versions.
It outlines a pitch for up to $5.92 million that would be used to fund litigation to stop coal port expansions, major rail lines and new mines; to wage a "battle of Galilee" to stop "mega-mines" in central Queensland's Galilee Basin and expose it as a "globally significant carbon bomb"; and to discredit the NSW government's planning process for land use in the Hunter Valley that aims to determine how to allow mining and agriculture to co-exist.
The strategy proposes hiring staff to conduct "industry scandal research" to help change the story of coal so that, instead of being seen as the backbone of the economy and a creator of jobs and prosperity, the coal sector is seen as a "destructive industry that destroys the landscape and communities, corrupts our democracy, and threatens the global climate". It also proposes pouring funds into "symbolically contesting coal industry conferences" and annual general meetings in a bid to increase investor uncertainty, to lead to delays and higher finance costs on projects, as well as involving health professionals - "among the most trusted people in the Australian community" - in the campaign.
The community backlash to coal-seam gas has created "unprecedented political opportunities", as has the fact that the Greens hold the balance of power in the Senate and jointly in the House of Representatives "with two rural independents "who are deeply concerned" about the impacts of coal on agricultural land and groundwater. "We urgently need to build the anti-coal movement and mobilise off the back of the community backlash to coal-seam gas," the document states. "If we fail to act decisively over the next two years, it will be too late to have any chance of stopping almost all of the key infrastructure projects and most of the mega-mines.
"By prioritising infrastructure campaigns, our aim is to delay the proposed increase in export capacity substantially (by several years)."
The strategy was roundly condemned by major miners and government. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said: "Reports of elaborate strategies designed to destroy Australian industries and jobs are very disturbing."
BHP Billiton was "both surprised and disturbed", warning that plans to harm the coal-export industry would have a "direct impact on the livelihoods of many thousands of Australians".
Rio Tinto labelled it a "blueprint for economic vandalism that would fundamentally undermine all sectors of the Australian economy and threaten growth, investment and jobs".
Mr Hepburn said that the document "is a version of a funding proposal that was developed last year".
The anti-coal movement's document details a six-pronged strategy, for which the first priority is to lodge legal challenges against coal port expansions in Queensland and NSW, two major rail lines - particularly the rail line to the Galilee Basin that would unlock a series of major mines - and up to a dozen key mines.
As well as disrupting and delaying key projects, the strategy aims to "build on the outrage created by coal-seam gas" to win federal and state reforms to block mines from key areas such as farmland, nature refuges, and near homes.
It aims to increase the risk for investors by adding to concerns about uncertainty, and says that driving up the costs of coal is "fundamental to the long-term strategy to phase out the industry".
"We are seeking investment to help us build a nationwide coal campaign that functions like an orchestra, with a large number of different voices combining together into a powerful symphony," the document says.
Among the projects targeted in detail is the dredging of Gladstone Harbour for liquefied natural gas terminals and Wiggins Island coal port, as there are fears about the impact on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
At Galilee Basin, the group wants to drive up the costs and cause such extensive delays that the projects "run foul of a changing global coal investment environment", while in the Hunter Valley it hopes that more landowners will commit to "locking the gate" against coal.
As well as targeting NSW and Queensland, the group wants to stop Indian and Chinese companies from exporting from Western Australia and to stop brown coal being exported from Victoria.
The document puts the cost of hiring two lawyers for two years to run coal and CSG lawsuits in Queensland at $500,000.
Among the positions proposed are vacancies for campus organisers, interns - with a $40,000 intern stipend proposed - and $95,000 for a media adviser in Sydney.
