Don't let Hunt trust Adani with our Great Barrier Reef
This Wednesday, Environment Minister Greg Hunt will decide whether to trust Adani with the Carmichael Mine.
The mine is part of a mega-project that means dredging and dumping Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seabed. Adani will operate the world's biggest coal port on the Reef coastline.
The thing is though, Adani is the last company you'd want to trust with something as precious as our Great Barrier Reef.
There are reports of bribery, illegal construction, destroying protected environments, corruption and so much more.
Watch the video and read the reports now, then contact Minister Hunt imploring him to reject the Carmichael Mine.
An investigation by the Karnataka anti-corruption ombudsman discovered Adani was involved in large scale illegal exports of iron ore. The report was set up to investigate "large scale corruption and complaints of profiteering through illegal mining with the complicity of the authorities in all levels of Government."
By using overloaded trucks and accepting iron ore from unlicensed dealers, Adani was involved in the theft of massive amounts of iron ore, resulting in "huge" economic losses to the government.
The report found Adani was bribing officials to receive "undue favour for illegal exports". The report found that "The officials of Port Department, Customs, Police, KSPCB, CRZ, Mines, Local politicians and others are involved in receiving the bribe money from M/s. Adani Enterprises."
You can find the ombudsman's full report by clicking here.
In 2015 an investigation into Adani by the Sydney Morning Herald uncovered evidence of a very murky money trail leading to tax havens in the Cayman Islands, criminal investigations, and secret ownership. In fact, due to inconsistencies in the company's documents, it's unclear who even owns Abbot Point
The story revealed much of the Adani empire could be owned by Gautam Adani's secret brother, who happens to be under criminal investigation for allegedly siphoning over a billion dollars from shareholders into offshore accounts.
You can read the full expose here: www.smh.com.au/business/uncertainty-over-massive-queensland-mine-after-election-shock-and-concerns-over-indian-company
Adani's approval for its Mundra port states "no existing mangroves shall be destroyed during the construction/operation of the port," and explicitly stated reclamation of creeks was prohibited.
Here's what the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests here found:
- Large areas of mangrove were filled with dredge spoil (or, 'reclamated').
- 75ha of mangroves were destroyed in a conservation area.
- Dredging infrastructure blocked water supply to large areas of mangroves, drying them up and killing them.
You can read the environmental report and see shocking images of the damage by clicking here.
The investigative committee found Adani was "less that serious" about complying with the environmental conditions placed on the approval.
They inadequately managed the release of fly ash, and failed to take even basic steps to prevent salinity groundwater from leaking into the local environment.
To read about Adani's other environmental failings at its Mundra port, click here.
Yep, really.
The Government received so many allegations of environmental breaches at Adani's Munda port, it created a special committee to investigate them all.
Among the raft of breaches the committee confirmed, it found Adani had built an airstrip and aerodrome without environmental approval.
You can read about that violation, and many others, by clicking here.
Huge thanks and congratulations on the hard work of Greenpeace, who researched and compiled this document, detailing many of Adani's failings.
You can access the report by clicking here.