Galilee Blockade, which opposes the $16bn Carmichael mine, urges followers to apply for jobs with the Indian company

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A civil disobedience campaign targeting Adani’s controversial Queensland coal project has asked almost 12,000 supporters to sign up for a job with the miner.

The Galilee Blockade is working on infiltrating Adani and related companies to gain sources of information to help its plans for “direct action”.

The group is emailing 11,931 supporters over several days to ask them to register their interest in an Adani career via the company’s website.

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A Galilee Blockade spokesman, Ben Pennings, said the group was already working with industry insiders, including employees at companies including Rio Tinto, and would help others get appropriate qualifications to join the industry. “The level of support is phenomenal,” Pennings said.

The group is also seeking help from people within any public relations firm, lobbying firm or political party that deals with Adani.

Pennings said there were Queensland Labor party members disenchanted with the Palaszczuk government’s support of the Carmichael mine.

He said even people working in restaurants or venues privy to information about Adani events, political fundraisers or mining industry events that were not public could prove pivotal in the campaign.

“We now the mining industry tries to infiltrate the environmental movement, we know they engage state and federal police about targeting activists,” Pennings said. “So as far as we’re concerned we want a level playing field, to get as much info as possible to find out about Adani and the people they’re in bed with.

“We’re hoping employees will provide information to not only us but unions and other groups. But if there’s inside information to help target Adani and their friends, we’ll use it for direct action purposes.”

Pennings said the group had so far conducted “security checks on between 300 and 400 people around the country who want to be actively involved in campaign”. “We’re being very careful in regards with who we get involved in direct action,” he said.

Pennings said it appeared that to date, Adani was hiring only “lobbying and PR people” – rather than mining site jobs such as for truck drivers – as the company was still securing finance for the $16bn project. “But if they want people to register, and they end up getting finance, we want to get people who will be employees of conscience,” he said.

An Adani spokesman said: “We are not employing yet but it’s good that the activists have discovered our website which may be able to help them see the facts of this project.

“It’s also good to see that they acknowledge the number of jobs to be offered by purportedly contacting thousands of people.”