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03/26/12 6:35 PM

#9056 RE: fuagf #9032

Palmer backs away from CIA claims
David Wroe and Judith Ireland
March 21, 2012

Embedded video: Drew Hutton is "seriously considering" suing Clive
Palmer for defamation over the mining magnate's "bizarre" CIA comments.

Mining billionaire Clive Palmer has stepped back from some of the colourful remarks he made yesterday about the Greens and conservationists, which Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr said could undermine Australia's investment appeal.

Clarifying yesterday's broad spray .. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/greens-in-with-cia-claims-palmer-20120320-1vhzy.html .. in which he claimed the Greens and the environmental group Greenpeace were tools of the CIA in a plot to undermine Australia's coal exports, Mr Palmer narrowed his accusations late last night to elements of the Greens movement in Queensland.

"A lot of the people in Greenpeace are good people. But I don't like the idea that they are being funded by foreign people and many of them don't even know it," he told the National Times.


Colourful claims ... Clive Palmer. Photo: Glenn Hunt

"I personally think [Greens leader] Bob [Brown] is pretty sincere. I don't agree with him, but the point is I think he's Australian. I don't question his loyalty to Australia. I personally don't think Bob Brown would be associated with foreign groups.

"I think a lot of Greens want to do the best thing ... I disagree with them. Maybe I'm not 100 per cent right and I'm sure they're not 100 per cent right. I'm trying to broaden the debate."

However, Mr Palmer, one of Australia's richest people, stood by his claim that Drew Hutton, the anti-coal seam gas campaigner and central figure in the Queensland Greens, was linked to the CIA via his involvement in the preparation of a Greenpeace strategy titled "Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom".

The ABC has reported that the CIA has denied the allegations.
"Simply put, these allegations are false," a spokesperson said.


In response to Mr Palmer, Mr Hutton said that he was "seriously considering" suing the mining billionaire but said he would abandon his threats to sue if he received an apology.

"Treason is a capital offence in many countries," he said. "As a proud Australian, I am disgusted by these bizarre and dishonest allegations."

Despite Mr Palmer's backdown, Senator Brown is not impressed.

"We all have to be judicious in what we say and when we say it," he said in Canberra this morning.

Senator Brown also called on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Queensland Liberal National leader Campbell Newman to "repudiate" the "outrageous false claims" made by Mr Palmer against the Queensland Greens.

"It is a false accusation from Mr Palmer aimed at misleading the voters of Queensland on the way to the ballot box. And that can't be allowed as fair play," Senator Brown said in Canberra this morning.

This morning the Greens tried unsuccessfully to debate Mr Palmer's claims in the Senate. Senator Brown moved a motion calling on the Liberals and the Nationals to "condemn the defamatory comments, regarding the Greens, Mr Drew Hutton, Greenpeace and others, of their major supplicant Clive Palmer". The move was blocked by Coalition and Labor senators.

But earlier this morning, Coalition energy spokesman Ian Macfarlane said there was not a close association between the Liberal Party and Mr Palmer - who is a key donor.

"Clive is a very colourful character and he has his own business to run. We have our own policies to run and that's fine by us," he said.

The authors of Stopping the Coal Export Boom acknowledge .. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/greenpeace-confirms-rockefeller-link-as-palmer-faces-legal-action-20120321-1vj15.html#ixzz1piyVFdx9 .. the ''generous support of the Rockefeller Family Fund''.

The fund offers grants to advocacy groups to help raise awareness of what it describes as ''key societal challenges''.

When contacted by The National Times, the fund - based in New York - could not immediately answer questions about the grant provided for the Australian report but said it would respond to questions about Mr Palmer's allegations.

This morning Senator Carr said that he expected phone calls from the United States over Mr Palmer's comments

"I expect to be taking phone calls from Americans today saying 'Hang on, we're fighting together in Afghanistan, you've got a treaty relationship with us, do you think we'd be using the CIA to wreck the economy of an ally? That would not be in our interest.'

"I'd expect to have at the very least, a few curious, bemused but polite phone calls from Americans."

Senator Carr also said that he thought Mr Palmer's comments could create the impression that Australia was a "risky" place to do business.

"You're going to have investors thinking 'Woooo, what's this? I mean who is this guy?' And
someone's going to tell them that he is the No.1 donor to Tony Abbott," Senator Carr said.


"I think Tony Abbott's got to widen the circle of his advice."

This morning on Channel Ten, Mr Abbott labelled Mr Palmer a "larger than life character", but said he was not into "bandying around charges of treason".

Greenpeace yesterday ridiculed suggestions that it had ever received CIA support.

Standing by his claims that the United States through the CIA was trying to undermine Australia's coal exports to Asia to preserve its own economic dominance, the Queensland magnate said Rockefeller family organisations had been shown in the past to be fronts for CIA activity.

- With Daniel Flitton, Marissa Calligeros

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/palmer-backs-away-from-cia-claims-20120321-1viok.html

========

Greens founder Drew Hutton may sue Clive Palmer over mining conspiracy claims

By Alison McMeekin and AAP
The Daily Telegraph
March 21, 2012 2:32PM

* Greens founder considering suing mining billionaire
* Follows Palmer claims activists want to destroy industry
* Swan - Palmer?s behaviour ?erratic and bizarre?


Mining magnate Clive Palmer said green groups wanted to destroy the mining industry. Picture: The Courier-Mail

GREENS founder Drew Hutton, who is considering whether he should sue
mining magnate Clive Palmer for defamation, said he would settle for an apology.


Mr Palmer yesterday claimed Greenpeace, the Greens, and activists including Mr Hutton were part of a conspiracy to undermine Australian mining interests.

In an extraordinary attack Mr Palmer said a plan by Greenpeace to launch legal action against future coal mining projects
was funded by the US-based Rockefeller Foundation, which he said was in turn funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

He said the Greens and Mr Hutton, who founded the party's Queensland chapter, were "tools'' of the US government, and said the Greens were being funded by "an offshore political power'' and that was tantamount to treason.

Mr Hutton told The Daily Telegraph he had to speak to his wife and needed to assess whether he had enough money before mounting a legal challenge.

But he said he would settle for an apology.

“If Clive wants to apologise and concede he had no evidence to base such a claim on, I’m happy to accept that,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Hutton said he had received legal advice that he had “an excellent chance of winning a case” against Mr Palmer.

“This guy actually accused me of betraying my country,” Mr Hutton said.

“I’m pretty angry about it.”

Mr Palmer tweeted this afternoon that Mr Hutton “should explain who funds him and his continual crusades against mining interests”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr described Mr Palmer’s comments as "recklessly irresponsible'' that would “have investors and the American government wondering if some part of the Australia political system's lost its collective marbles”.

"You're going to have investors thinking, whoa, who's this, who is this guy?” Senator Carr said, adding he was expecting some diplomatic blowback over the comments.

"I expect to be taking phone calls from Americans today saying 'hang on, we're fighting together in Afghanistan, we've got a treaty relationship, do you think we'd be using the CIA to wreck the economy of an ally?'''

Treasurer Wayne Swan said Mr Palmer’s behaviour was “increasingly erratic and bizarre”.

Greens leader Bob Brown said Mr Palmer should withdraw his comments.

"I have no doubt he's had overnight legal advice on some of the things he's said,'' Senator Brown said.

http://www.news.com.au/national/greens-founder-drew-hutton-to-sue-clive-palmer-over-mining-conspiracy-claims/story-e6frfkvr-1226306280097