The Victorian power plant boss threatened by Earth Liberation Front (ELF) activists should consider himself lucky to have received a warning, a North American ELF spokesman says Head of the Hazelwood power plant in Victoria's east, Graeme York, received a hand-delivered ELF notice threatening his Melbourne home.
It said Mr York's "opulent suburban house" in Melbourne's east was not safe "so long as Hazelwood continues to pollute at such an inexcusable level ...".
Spokesman for the North American ELF press office Jason Crawford said ELF targets did not usually receive warnings of "economic sabotage" actions.
"I think he (Mr York) should consider himself lucky, that a lot of ELF actions aren't predicated by a letter delivered to them," Mr Crawford said.
Mr Crawford said there was no line drawn between targeting the Hazelwood company property and Mr York's personal home.
"Either way, whether it's his home or not, this man is essentially head of a corporation that is polluting the homes of millions of other people ... yet he goes home to his gated community or his nice manicured lawns."
Hazelwood, a brown coal-fired station that supplies about one quarter of Victoria's energy needs, emits up to 50 per cent more greenhouse gases per unit of electricity produced than NSW black coal-fired stations.
But despite the Victorian Government's policy of cutting greenhouse emissions, it has extended Hazelwood's operations until 2030.
Mr Crawford said there was a "strong likelihood" that more people in Australia would become "fed up" with corporations and governments not taking strong action or delivering on promises to reduce global warming.
"I have little doubt," he said.
Some would take action under the ELF banner, he predicted, again warning that usually, ELF's "economic sabotage" targets were not forewarned.
"It's a little bit unprecedented that a notice is given to a chief executive before his corporation is targeted."
