This week the ABC’s Four Corners Program focused their investigation on the corporate structure of the Adani Group, linking it to tax havens across the world and highlighting numerous environmental breaches associated with their operations.
Adani Group’s assets in Australia include the Abbot Point Coal Terminal near Bowen in Queensland, and a planned railway line of nearly 400 kilometres from the port to the giant Carmichael mine it wants to build in the Galilee Basin — aided by a subsidised loan of up to a $1 billion it is seeking from the federal Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).
“The Four Corners report clearly shows that the Adani Group is not fit to be doing business in Australia,” said Tony Fontes, spokesperson for the Australian Marine Conservation Society in Airlie Beach. “The report spoke not only of their shady financial dealings but also highlighted numerous environmental breaches associated with their port operations in India. Adani can’t be trusted with our Reef.”
“Their track record in Australia is no better. In August, Adani’s Abbot Point coal port was fined more than $12,000 for releasing coal-laden water right next to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area during Cyclone Debbie. The water contained eight times more pollution than allowed.”
In the Four Corners program, former Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh accuses the federal and Queensland governments of not doing their due diligence in examining the Adani Group’s environmental and financial record in India before approving the massive mine in the Galilee Basin.
“A real concern is that much of the detail mentioned in the Four Corners report is not new,” said Tony Fontes. “Our local, state and federal politicians know very well the financial and environmental track record of Adani. Yet, they have pushed every button to make the project happen.”
“Our local council is bending over backwards to bring Adani to our region. It was only last March that our mayor visited with Adani in India to spruik the Whitsundays at a cost of $10,000 to the rate payer.”
“The Four Corners report highlighted that the Adani Carmichael mine project will not produce anything like the 10,000 jobs that Adani claims but more in the range of 1,500 jobs and very few if any in the Whitsunday region.”
“The council seems to have lost sight that our region is dependent on a healthy Reef. Opening the Carmichael mine will only increase the impacts of global warming including coral bleaching. Our local tourism industry should be pounding on the council’s door for answers.”
Contact: Tony Fontes 0417749143