MiningWell, what do we make of this?I see ASIC has charged anti-mining campaigner, Jonathan Moylan, for issuing an announcement from his personal computer in January that ANZ Bank was cutting $1.2 billion in funding to Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine in the Hunter ValleyThe false announcement briefly caused Whitehaven’s share price to drop almost 9% on 8 January – wiping more than $314 million from the value of the companyASIC confirmed last night that Mr Moylan has been charged with breaching section 101E of the Corporations Act which deals with false or misleading statementsIf convicted he could face 10 years gaol and a $495,000 fineLock the Gate President, Drew Hutton, who listeners to this program know well, says ASIC should reconsider its decision to charge Mr MoylanThis bloke is just 24 years old“Young Jonathan Moylan has felt the full force of the law something multi-national mining giants rarely feel in this country” Drew Hutton said“We are asking ASIC to reconsider their decision and withdraw the prosecution – the penalty is clearly disproportionate to the offence“Whether you agree with his actions or not, his intent was obviously just to tell the world about the plight of people and environments at risk from this massive coalmine”I thought ASIC was established to regulate the corporate world, not to persecute idealistic young peopleI doubt most Australians believe this sort of prosecution is fair

The Alan Jones Breakfast show: Highlights

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