2017-05-10
In this sitting week of Parliament the Greens will introduce a bill to stop $1 billion in public money going to Adani to prop up their dirty mega coal-mine.
“The Liberal government takes money away from battling families but wants to give $1billion to a tax dodging, environmentally ruinous, mining company, said Australian Greens acting leader Senator Scott Ludlam.
“Queensland Labor has the power to block the handover of public funds but won’t do it.
“Instead they encourage Adani to export its environmental vandalism here, granting it special legal status and dodgy deals like a 60-year unlimited groundwater licence.
“Queenslanders will remember how Queensland Labor sold them and the environment out for a dirty coal mine when they cast their vote in the upcoming State election.”
“It’s no wonder Queensland Labor ministers are afraid of losing their seats to the Greens.
“If the Adani mine goes ahead $3 billion will reportedly be funnelled directly to the Adani family via a company based in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands.
“The coal Adani plans to export to India will be well below Australian standards meaning more carbon pollution and even more deadly air pollution.
“Coal kills people, destroys livelihoods and drives global warming that is killing the Great Barrier Reef, and if this mine goes ahead, 2.3 billion tonnes of coal will be dug up and burned.
“Overseas, Adani is under investigation for money laundering, fraud and corruption, including allegedly bribing public officials.
“They have ignored environmental laws causing irreversible damage.
“Under current federal law, there is nothing to stop a company with such an awful track record from being given public money.
“The Greens ‘Stop Adani’ Bill would create a ‘suitable person’ test and put an end to dodgy handouts.
“Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have a choice: support our bill, or back the mining billionaires.
“If they don’t it’s proof they work for their political donor mates not ordinary Australians.
Background
The Greens Stop Adani Bill will be introduced May 2017.
It will:
· Make sure that the Australian government could not hand out $1 billion to Adani for their coal railway via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) by creating a broad “suitable person” test under the NAIF Act
· This test would examine investigations and findings against members of the Adani corporate group for fraud, money laundering, tax minimisation and corruption.
· This test involves mandatory consultation with ASIC and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission;
· Strengthen our national environment laws (the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or EPBC Act) to make sure environmental history must be considered when approvals are given; and
· Trigger an automatic review of Adani’s existing approvals focusing on the group’s environmental history, including approvals for the Carmichael mine, coal railway and the Abbot Point coal port in light of the damning evidence that has emerged since those approvals were first given in 2014 and 2015.
Adani’s shocking environmental track record is summarised in The Adani Brief released by Environmental Justice Australia and Earthjustice.
Queensland Labor’s failure to apply the “suitable operator” test to Adani under Queensland Law were exposed by Environmental Justice Australia in an October 2015 report, Can the Adani Group be trusted to comply with environmental laws?
Note: Under the NAIF Investment Mandate Direction (s13(4)), the Queensland State government can veto any loan under the NAIF.
Media Release Mining and Resources