Where are the politicians who should be staunchly defending Solid Energy? The ones so quick to call for measures to break up the gangs.

Any group of people who espouse lawbreaking should expect to be infiltrated. Crime gangs should as a matter of routine. Anti abortion extremists, corrupt political parties, islamofascist religious agitators, Wild Greens,  companies which dump toxic waste, paua poaching networks, child porn networks, etc etc should all work in constant fear of undercover operators blowing the whistle.

Solid Energy has to do it only because the Police are not. They should be but they’d rather prosecute road accident cases than chase people who deliberately cause harm. 

National, NZ First and ACT should have instantly defended Solid Energy.  They should be calling for reform of the law of entrapment, and the Privacy Act, so that deliberate wrongdoers know that they are not in a game – the community is deadly serious about lawbreaking.

The people dogging Solid Energy are trying to subvert democracy. Like all terrorists they know that the democratic majority will not vote for their wishes, but it might be cowed. So they set out with coercion to subvert the outcome of elections and lawful decision-making processes.  The state should be especially determined to show that it will not work. Instead Solid Energy has been left to struggle with these bullies on its own.

Solid Energy’s losses to the spurious “rare” snail campaign have already cost New Zealanders $25m, a sum that would have paid all the costs of a possum eradication programme for the entire West Coast for years.  But that sum is trivial compared to the main cost.

The success of the groups who’ve dogged Timberlands and Solid Energy sends a powerful message – that unlawful threats and sabotage and occupations work better than persuading your fellow citizens at the ballot box.