Geoff Law
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Ben Pennings takes on Adani in Supreme Court
UPDATE THURSDAY 4 MARCH 2021:
Following Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing, Ben Pennings thanked his crowdfunder donors and legal team.
'Thanks to my legal crowdfunder donors, my 4 excellent lawyers clearly outshone Adani's 6 lawyers. As expected, the judge reserved her decision. But I'm more than hopeful I'll get the particulars of the case against me that Adani are currently trying to withhold.
'It was amazing to see the #StopAdani support outside the Supreme Court. My heart swelled, especially after seeing video footage of my eldest daughter bravely addressing the crowd and media scrum.'TUESDAY 2 MARCH 2021:
Prominent Stop Adani activist Ben Pennings is taking Adani to the Supreme Court today, arguing Adani should not be permitted to withhold key particulars of the civil case they have brought against him.
Adani is suing Mr Pennings for alleged breach of confidence, inducing breaches of contract and conspiring with others to commit unlawful acts, amongst other things. Each of these claims is based on Mr Pennings having allegedly received Adani’s confidential information. Together they make up at least two thirds of the total claim, as well as underpinning the temporary injunction against Mr Pennings.
Adani wants the Supreme Court to make broad confidentiality orders in the court case. These orders would permanently ban Ben’s lawyers from telling him what confidential information Adani says he’s already received. Ben’s legal team will be saying to the Court that he will have a fundamental difficulty in defending the case if those orders are made. Kiera Peacock, partner of Marque Lawyers, said:
“Adani says Ben has taken its confidential information, but won’t tell him what that information actually is. This creates a real tension with Ben’s fundamental right to natural justice, to know the case he has to defend. That is the tension the parties will be asking the court to resolve.”
Mr Pennings said:
'It’s impossible to defend myself against a multi-billionaire if Adani withholds details of its case against me.
'Adani originally followed my wife to work and our child to primary school in failed attempts to search our family home. I need to know what exactly Adani says I did wrong, so that I can actually defend this case and end the ongoing pain this is causing my family.'
Greens MP Michael Berkman and Ben’s eldest daughter Isabella will be available to the media at the court solidarity event organised by Stop Adani Brisbane. Ben will hold a press conference after the day in court as needed.
When: Tuesday March 2, 9:15am
Where: Supreme Court of Queensland - 415 George St, Brisbane City
Contact: Ben Pennings on 0418 164 014
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Geoff Law published Adani’s ‘creepy and abhorrent’ attempts to crack down on dissenters to be tested in Blog 2021-03-01 09:53:04 +1100
Adani’s ‘creepy and abhorrent’ attempts to crack down on dissenters to be tested
A test of Adani’s attempts to crack down on its critics will occur on Tuesday 2 March 2021, when the Queensland Supreme Court will hear the company’s case against climate campaigner Ben Pennings. Supporters of Mr Pennings will be out in force outside the court. Meanwhile, the Adani Group’s attempts to muzzle its critics in India are also being tested, both by the judiciary and in the court of public opinion.
Adani (now trading in Australia as Bravus) alleges that Mr Pennings ran a campaign of intimidation and harassment against the company’s attempts to open up the Galilee coal basin to exploitation. Adani’s Carmichael mine, if it goes ahead, would be the first in a series of proposed mines aimed at extracting millions of tonnes of coal from the massive basin. For several years, Mr Pennings was the public face of Galilee Blockade, a community endeavour aimed at protecting the Earth’s climate by keeping the coal in the ground.
Adani instituted proceedings against Mr Pennings in August 2020. Later that month it was revealed that Adani had secretly but unsuccessfully sought the court’s permission to mount a raid on Mr Pennings’s family home in Brisbane in order to seek confidential documents supposedly acquired by Mr Pennings. In October 2020, it was further revealed that Adani had organised surveillance of Mr Pennings and his family by hiring a private security firm. The secret photographing of Mr Pennings walking his nine-year-old daughter to school was widely described as a ‘creepy’ and 'abhorrent' move by Adani.
In statements to the media, Adani attempted to excuse its behaviour.
‘Any surveillance activity related to the relatives of Mr Ben Pennings, was an effort to determine the time of day to carry out a search order that would see the least disruption to residents, if it was granted by the courts,’ a company spokesperson said.
‘Our court proceedings relate to Mr Pennings alone, and we were proactively trying to avoid disrupting his family where possible. These activities were legally undertaken.
‘We are unapologetic for exercising our legal rights and we will continue to use all legal means available to us to protect ourselves, our employees and contractors from individuals or groups who act unlawfully.’
Similar attempts to use the courts to crack down on those who criticise or question the Adani Group have been used in India.
(Story continues below)
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Geoff Law published Flood of calls to potential Adani insurers follows wet-season rail-line damage in Blog 2021-02-18 10:45:11 +1100
Flood of calls to potential Adani insurers follows wet-season rail-line damage
Footage taken by local environment groups reveals that the coal railway being constructed by Adani between the proposed Carmichael mine and Abbot Point has been swamped by wet-season floods.
According to the resulting media reports, Adani is under investigation for environmental breaches on the rail-line construction zone because of sedimentation of intersecting creeks. StopAdani groups have said that the flooding of the rail line has polluted these waterways.
The Mackay Conservation Group said that Adani had failed to implement adequate sediment controls. The group said its lawyers had written to the Queensland government outlining the damage and calling for a thorough investigation of associated environmental damage.
The #StopAdani movement says this is a crucial opportunity for members of the public to tell the insurance industry to rule out support for the Carmichael mine and associated railway. Various Lloyd’s insurers are the main recipients of the campaign.
Details of potential insurers and sample messages to them are in the tool kit below.
Meanwhile, Adani (trading as Bravus Mining and Resources), had refuted the allegations in a statement.
The company said: 'We refute the allegations made today by anti-coal activist organisations Environmental Justice Australia and Mackay Conservation Group, about the appropriateness of the sediment controls we have in place to manage dirty rainwater run-off and flood waters at our remote rail construction sites.
'The Carmichael Project takes our environmental obligations seriously and we have erosion and sediment control measures in place at all of our construction sites, to ensure we comply with our environmental approvals for daily operations and extreme weather events.
'These environmental controls align to the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Best Practice Erosion and Sediment Control Guidelines. This is industry best-practice in line with the standards outlined in the project approvals.
'Environmental Justice Australia have also made allegations that sediment controls in June 2019 were not sufficient, and referred to an independent report produced for the Isaac Regional Council.
'Following that report, Isaac Regional Council wrote to Bravus, advising an investigation had occurred. Isaac Regional Council subsequently stated that the actions undertaken by Bravus were satisfactory.
'The Carmichael Project has some of the strictest environmental conditions ever imposed on a mining project in Australia.'
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Geoff Law published The Myanmar coup leader visiting Adani Ports in 2019 in Blog 2021-02-09 14:03:15 +1100
The Myanmar coup leader visiting Adani Ports in 2019
In 2019, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander in chief of Myanmar's military and the leader of last week's coup, visited the Adani Ports and SEZ company at its massive port in Mundra, India.
According to the senior general's website:
'The Senior General and party visited Adani Ports and Logistics at Mundra Port. Officials of Adani Port & SEZ Limited (APSEZ) gave a presentation on operating the functions at the port to accept docking of container ships for export and import processes. The Senior General asked about safety process in preventing natural disasters and other points he wanted know. The Senior General and party viewed round undertakings of safety process for disasters at factories and tasks being undertaken along the deep seaport. Officials conducted them round the port. Then, commemorative gifts were exchanged at the meeting hall.
'Adani Ports and Logistics, a deep seaport at the Gulf of Kutch in India, is one of the ports which can admit docking of large vessels.It is a main gatepost of transporting commodities to inner part of India.The port stores and distributes crude oil, automobiles, and other export and import items. The port which has jetties to admit docking of many tons of cargo ships is the world’s largest coal import port to supply coal to Adani coal-fired power plant and TATA coal-fired power plant.'
Adani Ports and SEZ is leasing land from a company owned by the Myanmar military for its port development in Yangon, Myanmar. This has led to several instances of criticism of the Adani Group by human-rights advocates. There have been renewed calls for Australia to impose sanctions on the military leader since last week's coup.
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Geoff Law published Persecution of senior journalist comes against a backdrop of nationwide anti-Adani protests in Blog 2021-02-05 09:31:56 +1100
Persecution of senior journalist comes against a backdrop of nationwide anti-Adani protests
The persecution of a senior journalist in India as a result of defamation cases initiated by the Adani Group comes at a time of a wider government crackdown on press freedoms. The unsafe climate for journalists has been reported globally.
Last month, international press watchdogs objected strongly to the issuing of an arrest warrant against journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta by a court in Gautam Adani’s home state of Gujarat. The warrant arose from a 2017 defamation case by Adani from which all defendants other than Paranjoy have been dropped. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Indian journalist unions and other media groups condemned the warrant and the Adani Group’s use of defamation cases to stifle public criticism.
Last week, a higher court suspended the above ‘non-bailable arrest warrant’ (effectively a prison term) against Paranjoy. It’s a reprieve. Nevertheless, the 65-year-old journalist is still required to travel during a deadly pandemic from his home in Delhi to a court in far-off Gujarat. This is manifestly unfair.
In addition, a gag order applied by a different court in relation to another case brought by Adani against Paranjoy still applies. The gag order prevents Paranjoy, Abir Dasgupta (a frequent contributor to AdaniWatch), and the media outlet NewsClick from publishing stories about the Adani Group. The gag order has applied since September 2020. As the Adani Group is one of India’s biggest conglomerates, with businesses in mining, energy, ports, defence industries, real estate, gas, edible oils and logistics, the gag order seriously undermines the ability of the media to report on matters of vital national interest.
Adani’s attempt to muzzle its critics comes at a critical time for India.
In recent months, large, rowdy protests have occurred across the length and breadth of the nation, involving people from all walks of life. The causes are many but there is a common theme. People are sick of crony capitalism in general – and are particularly angry about the notorious closeness between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani.
According to media reports, Gautam Adani tripled his wealth in 2020, cementing his position as India’s second richest person with assets worth an estimated $32 billion. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of his compatriots have suffered the economic and biological ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Geoff Law published Calls for sanctions against Myanmar coup leader who visited Adani Ports in 2019 in Blog 2021-02-03 10:06:48 +1100
Calls for sanctions against Myanmar coup leader who visited Adani Ports in 2019
Calls for international sanctions against the head of Myanmar's military have intensified after Monday's coup. The main target is Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who visited Adani's massive Mundra port in July 2019, exchanging gifts with officials of the Adani Ports company.
On Monday 1 February 2021, in the wake of the military coup, human-rights groups intensified calls for international sanctions against Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who is Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces.
The rights group ‘Justice for Myanmar’ said in a media release that the coup had been ‘been orchestrated by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his enablers in the military leadership’. It said that the general is the ‘main beneficiary’ of the coup and called on ‘the international community to apply immediate and comprehensive targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military, their leaders and their business accomplices’.
The company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (‘Adani Ports’) is developing a container port in Myanmar’s biggest city on land leased from a company owned by the Myanmar military.
In January 2019, it was reported that the Adani Yangon International Terminal Co Ltd (a subsidiary of Adani Ports) had received approval from Myanmar authorities to establish a container port in Yangon. The company was to develop, operate and maintain the Ahlone International Port Terminal on the Yangon River about six km from the centre of the city. (See interactive map for location) The deal was said to be worth $US290 million. About 20 hectares of land were to be leased from the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), a large company owned by the Myanmar military.
According to the UN Mission that investigated the 2017 human-rights abuses in Myanmar, the MEC is fully owned and controlled by the Myanmar Ministry of Defence and is a direct source of revenue for the military. The Mission cited evidence that the MEC and other military-controlled entities generate revenue that dwarfs that of any civilian-owned company in Myanmar. The MEC therefore helps enable the operations of a military machine accused of genocidal crimes.
The MEC also has a wholly-owned private subsidiary, Myanmar Economic Corporation Ltd (MEC Ltd), whose board is reported to include Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with the implication that it is influenced by senior leaders such as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
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Global Actions to Stop Adani to 2 February
WEEK OF ACTION: Young people in India and Australia have launched a Global Week of Action to Stop Adani! They are determined to protect their future from climate change and to stand in solidarity with community resistance to Adani’s projects around the world.
For the next seven days, Stop Adani will be spotlighting social movements in Australia and India that are resisting Adani’s devastating coal projects and crony capitalism, as the many fights to prevent Adani’s devastating projects come together to support each other.
'The Stop Adani campaign stands in solidarity with Indian communities, including Adivasi communities, resisting Adani’s coal projects, and we stand with Indian farmers saying no to Modi’s farm law changes which benefit Adani. The Adani Group disregards Traditional Owners and the community, and it brings environmental destruction,' a StopAdani spokesperson said.
'We also recognise the privilege of campaigning for change without fear for personal safety, and send our best wishes to those who campaign for justice and take on personal risk to do so.'Links to actions in India can be found here: Global Week of Action to Stop Adani: Toolkit (coda.io)
To see people in action all across India, look at this inspiring video:
Pass The Mic: Unheard Voices from Adani Sites - YouTube
And for songs of protest, here are 53 tracks to access, from Hashtag Justice, to Word Sound Power, and Chennai Poromboke Paadal:
Youth Action to Stop Adani: Songs of Resistance; Songs of Hope - YouTube
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Adani Gag Order on Indian Journalists Slammed
Media Release
21 January 2021ADANI GAG ORDER ON INDIAN JOURNALISTS AND NEWS OUTLET SLAMMED
Revelation of gag order follows coverage of arrest warrant against veteran Indian journalist and other moves by Adani against critics
Bob Brown today slammed billionaire Gautam Adani for his attack on freedom of speech in India and Australia. The criticism followed the revelation today that veteran Indian journalist, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, has been the subject of an Adani gag order for four months.
Yesterday it was reported that Paranjoy was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a court in Mundra, the Indian city in which Adani’s largest container port is located. The arrest warrant arises from a 2017 SLAPP suit in which Adani alleges that he was defamed by Paranjoy. The SLAPP suit refers to a story describing a $100-million ‘bonanza’ for Adani as a result of a decision by India’s Modi government.
Today it has been revealed that Paranjoy has been subjected to a gag order arising from yet another case initiated by Adani. A court in Ahmedabad, capital of Adani’s home state of Gujarat, agreed in September 2020 to an interim injunction sought by an Adani company preventing Paranjoy from reporting on the Adani Group.
‘Adani has piled one case after another on Paranjoy in an attempt to silence him,’ said Dr Brown. ‘The courts in Adani’s home state of Gujarat have complied, issuing a gag order and an arrest warrant. This behaviour is more that of a police state than what you would expect in a proud democracy like India.’
The injunction also applied to Paranjoy’s colleague, Abir Dasgupta, a frequent contributor to AdaniWatch, and to NewsClick, the outlet in which the pertinent stories were published.
AdaniWatch investigator, Geoff Law, warned of the dangers to the public’s right to know about the activities of such a massive corporation.
‘The same repression is infecting Australia where Adani has already used ‘attack dog’ lawyers and moved to repress critics such as BBF Environmentalist of the Year Ben Pennings,’ Mr Law said. ‘Adani’s actions are a serious threat to free speech in at least two countries.’
The stories described Supreme Court decisions favourable to the Adani Group made by India’s Supreme Court. Adani claimed that the reports were libellous and mounted a case of criminal defamation. Proceedings have yet to commence in the case, but in the meantime, Paranjoy, NewClick and Abir Dasgupta are restricted from reporting on the Adani Group.
NewsClick editor, Prabir Parakayastha, speaking to ,newslaundry said ‘the way it’s construed, it’s a blanket bar that we are not supposed to write anything on Adani. And because Adani’s is one of the major companies in the country, asking us not to write about them is restraining freedom of speech.’
Further information: Geoff Law 0409 944891
Court documents (the third one, Exh. 14 contains the gag order) follow the flip:
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Geoff Law published Journalist unions condemn court order to arrest veteran journalist in Blog 2021-01-21 10:09:41 +1100
Journalist unions, media groups condemn court order to arrest veteran journalist
Updated 2 February 2021
The High Court of the Indian state of Gujarat has suspended the 'non-bailable arrest warrant' (basically a prison term) for veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, according to media reports. The 65-year-old journalist is still being compelled to travel during a pandemic to attend court hearings in a 2017 defamation case that has acquired notoriety for its singling out of Paranjoy. This is manifestly unfair.
The arrest warrant was issued by a lower court in Gautam Adani's home state of Gujarat and sparked outrage. Journalist unions and other media groups, in India and internationally, condemned the move. AdaniWatch, too, condemned this persecution of a highly respected journalist. The warrant arose from the 2017 defamation case in which Adani has dropped proceedings against all other defendants.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS - Media Statement
22 January 2021
The IFJ said and its Indian affiliate the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) condemn the widespread misuse of defamation law in India to target journalists and silence the media.
“The targeting of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a despicable abuse of power and influence by the Adani Group that shows how India is falling foul to the weaponising and twisting of existing laws, including defamation law, to silence critics. The higher judiciary should recognise that defamation law has long been misused to impede press freedom in India.”
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS - MEDIA STATEMENT
22 January 2021
New Delhi, January 22, 2021 – Authorities in the Indian state of Gujarat should drop their arrest warrant for journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, and the Adani Group conglomerate should stop trying to intimidate journalists with legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
“It is outrageous for authorities to issue arrest warrants for defendants who don’t want to risk their lives in a pandemic to attend defamation hearings,” said Aliya Iftikhar, CPJ’s senior Asia researcher. “Gujarat authorities should rescind the arrest warrant for Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, and the Adani Group should immediately drop criminal proceedings and stop intimidating journalists.”
CPJ emailed the Adani Group for comment but did not receive any response. CPJ emailed the Kutch district court at the address listed on its website, but did not immediately receive any reply.
Opinion piece in The People's Review
22 January 2021
Arrest warrant for senior investigative journalist Paranjoy shows ‘shabby state’ of press freedom in India. Defamation suit a ‘weapon used by Adani to gag the free press’.
Free Speech Collective says arrest warrant for Paranjoy is 'punitive and intimidatory'.
The statement says 'the manner in which the warrant for the arrest of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta was issued despite his lawyer’s plea, is an excessively punitive response. Yagnik said that the journalist had remained present in prior hearings. Clearly, he has not made any attempt to evade any processes of justice. An arrest warrant, in this context, amounts to intimidation.
'Indeed, the extensive use of criminal defamation to censor and silence journalists has become the norm and strikes a blow against freedom of expression. Despite several attempts, it continues to remain in the statute books, a handy tool to browbeat journalists.'
Press statement by the Media Foundation: The Media Foundation condemns the arrest warrant against senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
New Delhi, Jan 21, 2021: The Media Foundation notes with deep dismay that a lower court in Gujarat’s Kutch region has issued an arrest warrant against senior journalist Mr Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in a defamation case filed by the Adani group.
In June 2017, Mr Thakurta co-authored an expose in the Economic & Political Weekly outlining how the Adani group was able to evade paying the required amount of duty for an export venture with some help from the government. This series of articles was later reproduced in a news website, The Wire. Subsequently, the Adani group dropped the defamation charges against the publishers, the website and the co-authors of the investigation, barring Mr Thakurta.
While we hope that the higher judicial forums will provide immediate relief to Mr Thakurta, it does need to be emphasised that this defamation case is a vindictive act and intended to intimidate journalists and discourage professional journalism. This is part of a larger emerging trend of powerful vested interests misusing the processes of law to harass and hound independent and intrepid reporters and commentators.
The Media Foundation expresses its solidarity with Mr Thakurta and stands by him.
Harish Khare, President, The Media Foundation
Mannika Chopra, Honorary Secretary, The Media Foundation
MEDIA RELEASE: IJU condemns arrest order of Veteran Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
New Delhi/ 20 January 2021
The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) expresses its grave concern at reports that a Gujarat court has issued an arrest warrant against veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. The arrest has been ordered for alleged defamation of the Adani group by Thakurta in one of his articles published in 2017. The impugned article that was published by the Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) alleged that the government of India had tweaked rules of the Special Economic Zone to enable Adani Power Limited to get duty drawback of Rs 500 crore from the government. The Adani group sent a notice to the publisher, threatening legal action. The Sameeksha Trust, the publisher of EPW pulled down the article and its editor Guha Thakurta resigned in protest. It is strange that the Adani group has withdrawn charges against the publishers of the article-Sameeksha Trust and the co-authors, however not against Guha Thakurta.
In June 2017 the Wire republished the article, with permission from EPW. The Adani group then filed a SLAPP suit on the Wire and the co-authors of the article Guha Thakurta, Abir Dasgupta, Advait Rao Palepu and Shinzani Jain. In May 2019 a Gujarat court ordered the publishers to remove one sentence and one word from the article. The Wire complied and the defamation suit was rejected by the court. Now it is strange that another court has ordered arrest of Guha Thakurta.
In a joint statement IJU President Geetartha Pathak and Secretary General Sabina Indeerjit condemned the arrest warrant of Takjurta. The IJU leaders said: ‘We condemn the arrest order against a renowned journalist. IJU has earlier demanded decriminalisation of the defamation law which is a serious threat to freedom of press and media rights.’
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Geetartha Pathak, President, IJU
This is the story that led to the defamation action. It describes a decision by the Modi government that led to a $100-million 'bonanza' for the Adani Group.
(Story continues below)
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Geoff Law published Senior, respected Indian journalist faces arrest thanks to Adani in Blog 2021-01-20 18:10:41 +1100
Senior, respected Indian journalist faces arrest thanks to Adani
Adani’s moves to silence critics intensify
In a further exhibition of political and legal power, multi-billionaire Gautam Adani has secured a warrant for the arrest of one of India’s most renowned and respected journalists, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. It follows a series of other attempts to silence critics, including court actions against climate campaigner Ben Pennings and an Indian YouTuber; a request to the Indian Government to close down an anti-Adani twitterstorm; and an apparent attempt to close down the AdaniWatch website.
A court in Adani’s home state of Gujarat has issued the warrant which arises from a defamation case mounted by Adani against Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, the doyen of investigative journalists in India. The story has been covered in India by NewsClick, Scroll and the Business Standard.
The Adani Group had filed the defamation suit following his June 2017 article on a ‘Rupees 500 crore bonanza’ ($100 million) the group got from the government. The story was originally published in, and then withdrawn from, the Economic and Political Weekly. The story remains published in The Wire.
‘This is a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) writ aimed at both silencing the journalist and sending a shiver of fear through the media to halt any genuine investigation into Adani’s commercial empire,’ Bob Brown said. SLAPP writs are banned in many states of the USA and in the Australian Capital Territory.
This latest attack on free speech by Adani follows Adani’s lawsuits against climate campaigner Ben Pennings and an Indian YouTuber. In yet another attempt to silence critics, the Adani Group wrote to India’s central government in December 2020 seeking a crackdown of the ‘utmost severity’ on the supposed instigators of a Twitterstorm critical of Adani.
The arrest warrant comes not long after the Bob Brown Foundation received a threat to close down its AdaniWatch website following a complaint to the registrar of its domain name by an IT security firm, presumably acting on behalf of an unnamed client (emails sent to BBF on 7 and 9 January – see below).
AdaniWatch coordinator Geoff Law said that Adani is clearly spooked by the wave of protest against the group’s activities in India, where communities are opposing pro-corporate farm laws, moves to turn Goa into a coal hub, massive new port developments, and the takeover of indigenous lands for coal plants.
Further information: Geoff Law 0409 944891
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Geoff Law published Youth Action to Stop Adani - 27 January to 2 February in Blog 2021-01-19 10:10:25 +1100
Youth Action to Stop Adani - 27 January to 2 February
Indian, Australian Youth Groups Launch Global Week of Action Targeting Adani.
More than 25 youth groups have launched a global call for a week of action targeting Adani from 27 January 2021 to 2 February 2021.
YAStA is a call to action by youth groups from around the world to Stop Adani from subverting democracies, suppressing community voices, harassing its critics, taking over lands belonging to and used by Aboriginal, Indigenous, farming and fishing communities, degrading the environment, aggravating the climate crisis, endangering our future, eroding livelihoods, and obliterating cultures and identities.
Inspired by global efforts to #StopAdani, YAStA is calling for a Global Week of Action from 27 January 2021 to 2 February 2021 (World Wetlands Day). The farmers' protest outside Delhi highlights the extent to which the corporate sector controls the Indian government. Adani, which added $19 billion to its wealth during the COVID-19 lockdown, is considered one of the big beneficiaries of the Farm Laws.
In every location where local communities are fighting Adani's ventures, the campaign is also to reclaim their own governments to work for the electorate rather than for Adani.
Adani's businesses and proposals have dangerous ramifications for the environment. By taking over farmlands, commons, wetlands, seascapes and lands sacred to Aboriginal and Indigenous communities for mega ports, coal mines and carbon-intensive industries, Adani’s proposals end up impoverishing communities and aggravating the climate crisis.
Adani's response to community campaigns has been vicious, according to spokespeople for the campaign. By branding dissenting communities as anti-development and anti-national, it goads democratically-elected governments to turn against their own citizens. It must be said that Adani is not the only corporation to behave in this manner. However, as the experience of communities from India and Australia suggests, Adani symbolises the dangers of untrammelled corporate power.
As youth from across the world, we are very concerned for our future. We are convinced that a world under corporations will only enrich shareholders by robbing the environment, communities and generations to come. We extend our solidarity to the farmers protesting outside Delhi for fair prices for their produce and for more control over their own destinies.
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Geoff Law published Love is in the air – the Modi-Adani sweetheart deal on privatising airports in Blog 2021-01-18 09:14:44 +1100
Love is in the air – the Modi-Adani sweetheart deal on privatising airports
For many observers of Indian politics, the relationship between Gautam Adani and PM Narendra Modi has become the epitome of crony capitalism. The billionaire’s perpetually expanding empire has been nourished by government policies on energy, deregulation, infrastructure, solar energy, agriculture and mining. Perhaps the most egregious example of a government deal tailormade to suit the Adani Group is the leasing of six major airports to Adani Enterprises.
In February 2019, India’s airport authority announced that the corporate group led by Gautam Adani had made the winning bids to operate and develop the airports in six major Indian cities, four of them state capitals. Data released in the wake of the decision showed that these six airports were among the highest revenue earners and generators of profit among all the airports operated by India’s airport authority. News reports said that Adani had outbid eight other large corporations.
The six airports service the cities of Ahmedabad (capital of Gautam Adani's home state of Gujarat), Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Mangalore and Guwahati.
The deal raised eyebrows because the Adani Group had had no previous experience at running airports. Some commentators said that the Modi government had violated its own procedures in reaching this outcome. Recommendations by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the Ministry of Finance on the technical, financial and legal aspects of the bidding process were said to have been ignored. The state government of Kerala, whose main airport had been allocated to Adani against its stated wishes, challenged the decision in the courts. Its finance minister said the deal was an act of ‘blatant cronyism’.
According to its website, Adani Enterprises mounted the successful bids for 50-year concessions and ‘100% ownership’ for the airports. It would take on the ‘design, development, financing, construction, upgradation and expansion’ of the airports, but had also acquired other valuable assets, such as ‘large and attractive land for monetization’. The website spruiks the commercial virtues of the deal for Adani and the group’s shareholders. The deal was the forerunner of another foray into the airports business by the Adani Group, which in 2020 acquired airports in the Mumbai area (to be covered in a later story).
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Geoff Law published Adani’s massive coal mine on a tiny Indonesian island in Blog 2021-01-13 08:52:31 +1100
Adani’s massive coal mine on a tiny Indonesian island
Off the north-east coast of Borneo is the small island of Bunyu. Adani’s huge coal mine here has been blamed for degraded water supplies, reduced fish stocks and plummeting agricultural production. According to an Indonesian advocacy group, the very existence of the mine violates an Indonesian law aimed at protecting small islands from the predations of mining companies.
Bunyu lies in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. It is home to 11,000 inhabitants, including the indigenous Tidung people, as well as numerous migrants from Java and Sulawesi. For generations, Bunyu provided its people with abundant fish, rice and fruit. However, large-scale extraction of coal since the 1990s has severely degraded the island’s natural resources. The Adani Group arrived in 2006 and owns the largest mining operation on Bunyu.
According to some advocacy groups such as JATAM, Adani’s large mine should not even be permitted on Bunyu. Indonesia is a vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands. Its coastal region encompasses over 160 million people, about 60% of the nation’s entire population. According to JATAM, there are over 9700 mining leases in Indonesia, with exploration licences of coal companies covering over 35% of the islands’ area. JATAM says that 55 small islands are at least partly covered by such leases.
Small islands are particularly vulnerable to the social and environmental impacts of mining. As a result, government authorities have attempted to define small islands and the operations permitted on them. In North Kalimantan’s zoning plan, a ‘small island’ is one with an area of less than 200 square kilometres. The area of Bunyu is 198.32 square kilometres. Article 23 of Law (UU) Number 1 of 2014, states that it is not justified to have mines on small islands.
In other words, Adani’s coal mine should not be permitted on Bunyu.
Unfortunately, Indonesia’s governments also have laws designed to encourage investment in mining. Under such regulations, Bunyu is classified as a ‘Class A’ strategic area for the development of oil and gas. The inconsistency between one set of laws designed to protect small islands from mining and another set of laws designed to encourage mining has yet to be definitively resolved in a court of law.
According to JATAM, more than 50% of Bunyu's land area has become a mining concession. Coal mining on Bunyu has therefore proceeded according to the agenda set by Adani, the other coal company active on the island, and the state-owned oil-and-gas company.
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Geoff Law published Adani Group under scrutiny for links with brutal Myanmar military in Blog 2021-01-11 09:48:51 +1100
Adani Group under scrutiny for links with brutal Myanmar military
The Adani Group is coming under increasing scrutiny for its links with Myanmar’s brutal military. Myanmar military organisations perpetrated the 2017 killings, torture, dispossession and rape of Rohingya people, becoming the subject of UN investigations and international sanctions.
The Adani Group’s links to the Myanmar military include an Adani port development on land in Yangon owned by a corporation run by the military, and the 2019 visit to one of Adani’s ports in India by Myanmar’s commander in chief, a senior general on whom the USA has imposed sanctions. A UN mission to Myanmar found that the Adani Group was a ‘stark example’ of how foreign businesses can risk contributing to – or being linked with – the crimes against humanity carried out by the Myanmar military. To add further controversy to this mix, Australia has invested in the parent company of Adani’s Yangon port development.
In December 2020, the ABC reported that Australia’s sovereign-wealth body, the Future Fund, had invested $3.2 million in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (‘Adani Ports’), the parent company of the developer of a new port in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. The port is being established on land owned by a corporation that is, in turn, owned by the Myanmar military (otherwise known as the ‘Tatmadaw’).
In January 2019, it was reported that the Adani Yangon International Terminal Co Ltd had received approval from Myanmar authorities to establish a container port in Yangon. The company was to develop, operate and maintain the Ahlone International Port Terminal on the Yangon River about six km from the centre of the city. (See interactive map for location) The deal was said to be worth $US290 million. About 20 hectares of land were to be leased from the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), a large company owned by the Myanmar military.
According to the UN Mission that investigated the abuses in Myanmar, the MEC is fully owned and controlled by the Myanmar Ministry of Defence and is a direct source of revenue for the military. The Mission cited evidence that the MEC and other military-controlled entities generate revenue that dwarfs that of any civilian-owned company in Myanmar. The MEC therefore helps enable the operations of a military machine accused of genocidal crimes.
The MEC also has a wholly-owned private subsidiary, Myanmar Economic Corporation Ltd (MEC Ltd), whose board is reported to include Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with the implication that it is influenced by senior leaders such as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been described as a potential future president of Myanmar. On 5 November 2020, the Tatmadaw declared that his rank is equivalent to that of Vice President of Myanmar. In December 2019, the USA imposed sanctions on Senior General Min Aung Hlaing for his role in presiding over the military while it perpetrated atrocities on the Rohingya people.
According to his own website, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing toured Adani’s massive port complex at Mundra (India) in 2019 and exchanged gifts with officials of Adani Ports.
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Adani ramps up attempts to gag critics
Amid growing protests against crony capitalism in India, the Adani Group appears to be more sensitive than ever about its public image.
In January 2021, it was reported that an Adani company obtained a court order against a YouTube broadcaster preventing him from publishing reports of any kind pertaining to Adani until the next hearing of the case. The broadcaster, Vinay Dubey, had allegedly accused Adani Agri Logistics of building private railways and food-grain silos for the purposes of hoarding and profiteering. The Adani company claimed that the video had been published ‘to create civil unrest by instigating farmers and people at large’.
Adani’s move comes at a time of massive protests by farmers against the deregulation of agriculture by India’s Modi government. As a likely beneficiary of the new system, the Adani Group is one of the targets of a proposed boycott by farming groups and other protesters. Farmers have protested outside at least one Adani silo.
The strength of feeling appears to have spooked Adani. According to media reports, the Adani Group wrote to a government minister in late 2020 seeking an intervention against ‘fake news’ and an associated Twitterstorm. The letter reportedly complains of ‘a planned attempt to malign the reputation of the prominent business houses through fake news on Twitter to systematically wreak havoc even as the Centre has launched a campaign focusing on making India self-reliant in various sectors to promote investments and generate jobs locally’. It calls for the government to crack down on such attempts with ‘the utmost severity’.
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Geoff Law published General Electric called on to shun Adani coal-power station in Blog 2020-12-14 10:57:10 +1100
General Electric called on to shun Adani coal-power station
The campaign against Adani’s Carmichael coal mine has now turned to the giant multinational company, General Electric. An international media conference on the weekend called for General Electric to stand by its public commitment not to provide equipment to new coal-fired power stations. The power station in which Adani plans to burn its Australian coal is under construction in India and should be subject to the promise.
In September 2020, General Electric announced that it would exit the ‘new build coal power market’, a move aimed at helping the world meet its targets for reduction of carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement.
However, at a weekend media conference, General Electric was chastised for potentially providing steam turbines to the Indian power plant at Godda that will burn coal from Adani’s Carmichael mine in Australia. The media conference involved community representatives protesting against 15 proposed coal plants in 14 countries, including India, Indonesia, Bosnia-Herzogivina and Kenya. The proposed coal plants would generate up to 12 gigawatts of power. General Electric was urged to come clean about its involvement in these projects.
Sreedhar Ramamurthi, an Indian geologist from the Environics Trust, said that the provision of steam turbines by General Electric for the Adani coal-fired power plant at Godda would violate the company’s public undertaking to exit new coal plants.
‘General Electric must now have the courage and commitment to say NO and they must do it now,’ said Sreedhar.
According to GE's website, the company is supplying turbines to the 1600-MW plant at Godda. Under a section spruiking new projects, GE says:
- India Godda Coal-fired Power Plant: GE and SEPCO3, a subsidiary of PowerChina, booked a contract for the supply of India's Godda-2x800 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant project. GE will provide two 800MW ultra-supercritical steam turbine generators which will be jointly supplied by GE’s ABP factory in Beijing, China and its Sanand factory in India. SEPCO3 will provide construction and equity financing. Located in the Gunda area of Jalang (sic), the plant is developed by Adani Power Co., Ltd. of India under the IPP model. It is India's first ultra-supercritical coal-fired power station project, and GE’s first project with a Chinese EPC in India. When completed, the plant will provide reliable, efficient power to up to four million households in neighboring Bangladesh.
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Geoff Law published 'Boycott Adani!' say protesting Indian farmers in Blog 2020-12-13 13:20:14 +1100
'Boycott Adani!' say protesting Indian farmers
A revolt by hundreds of thousands of farmers has taken India by storm. The farmers are incensed at the deregulation of India’s agricultural sector, a move seen to benefit the food companies of the Adani Group at the expense of local producers. Tens of thousands of people from distant communities have travelled to the outskirts of Delhi in a mass movement that has rocked the Indian capital and brought traffic on major thoroughfares to a standstill. The organisers of the march, known locally as Dilli Chalo (Go to Delhi), have called for the government of Narendra Modi to repeal the new farming laws. With Modi digging in, a community boycott of the products of the Adani Group has kicked off.
The Modi government’s response to the mass movement has been heavy-handed, with protesters blasted by water cannons, smothered in tear gas or beaten by police. An image of an armoured paramilitary policeman about to strike an elderly farmer with his truncheon now emblemises the protest after going viral. Defending the farmers’ right to demonstrate peacefully, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked an international incident, with India withdrawing from a joint India-Canada event and then calling in Canada’s envoy for a carpeting.
Entry points into Delhi from some adjacent states have been barricaded, disrupting travel in the region. Further marches have been planned, with moves to block more major highways into Delhi.
Meanwhile, protesting farmers have accused the Modi government of doing the bidding of the Adani Group and other companies that would profit from the new farming laws. The Adani Group is developing businesses in the food industry that would benefit from the widespread deregulation of the agricultural sector. They have been accused of building new railway lines and siloes for the purposes of transporting and storing grain that, under the new laws, can be bought directly from farmers that have become vulnerable to the purchasing clout of big corporates. Farmers have protested outside at least one silo of the Adani Group.
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Geoff Law published StopAdani solidarity with mass protests by Indian farmers in Blog 2020-12-11 11:44:52 +1100
StopAdani solidarity with mass protests by Indian farmers
Australia's Stop Adani movement has expressed solidarity with Indian farmers' groups that have organised huge marches that have converged on the nation's capital, Delhi, paralysing transport routes. The farmers' mass movement is in response to the Modi government's deregulation of the agricultural sector, a move seen to benefit the Adani Group and other large corporations. Farmers say they will be at the mercy of large corporates when it comes to growing and selling their produce and have called for a boycott of Adani's products. The government's heavy-handed crackdown against the farmers, including the use of tear gas, water cannons and truncheons by paramilitary forces, has created worldwide expressions of support for the right of Indian citizens to peacefully demonstrate their dissent. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is one of many overseas political figures to stand up for peaceful protest.
Statement of Solidarity
10 December 2020
As a people-powered movement that has prevented the Adani company from digging its climate-wrecking coal mine for ten years, the Stop Adani movement stands in solidarity with Indian farmers leading mass peaceful protests against Modi and Adani’s farm laws.
Arguably the largest protests in human history, with organisers estimating 250 million people have taken part, farmer-led protests erupted in response to three laws passed by Modi’s Government, with farmers concerned that deregulation of agricultural markets will favour corporate interests such as billionaire Adani’s agricultural businesses, and make farmers vulnerable to exploitation. Amongst other changes, the farm laws could lead to minimum support price (MSP) safeguards being scrapped. MSP guarantees a price for farmers for particular crops, no matter the seasonal outlook.
Blatant crony capitalism in India and Australia favours billionaires at the expense of communities, families and the environment. Recent news of a potential billion-dollar loan from the State Bank of India to Adani confirms that Modi’s Government is working for corporate interests above all else. In Australia too, Governments have showered Adani’s coal project with public funds and special treatment, with mass protests stopping a billion-dollar public loan to Adani in 2017.
Governments must act in the public interest by putting farmers, communities and the environment first. The Stop Adani movement will continue to push Government decision-makers to act for the public good, and support those campaigning against crony capitalism in India.
As the world experiences more droughts, heatwaves, floods and storms from climate change, driven by export coal from Australian coal mines, these farm-law changes make Indian farmers even more vulnerable to the seasonal disruptions that will intensify with climate change. Projections estimate climate change will reduce wheat yield in India by up to 23% by 2050.
Manjot Kaur, Stop Adani spokesperson and Indian-Australian says, 'my family in Punjab comes from generations of farmers, the same farmers that are currently protesting against Modi’s farm laws. My father, grandfather, and many before me have been farming wheat on the same land, for generations. My family wants to continue farming for generations to come, but these law changes and climate change threaten our way of life. My grandfather has seen the weather change, seen the river he used to play in become polluted, and struggled against drought.
'Crony capitalism in India is driving Indian farming communities to the brink - from deregulating agricultural laws for big corporates to the State Bank’s 5000 crore (AUD $1 Billion) loan to Adani for their dangerous coal project, a project that will mine and burn coal and bring more climate disasters to Indian farming communities. Farmers that are fighting for their existence are the ones who deserve support from the state bank and protection from the Government, not billionaire coal companies like Adani.”
Simon Gedda, Central Queensland farmer from Lotus Creek said, 'as a Queensland farmer who understands the impacts of climate change first-hand, I stand in solidarity with the millions of Indian farmers who are pushing back on Adani and the Government's farm laws. It can be tough being a farmer. Not only do we battle the elements and, increasingly, climate change impacts, but we are now also called on to protect farmers' rights against billionaire coal-barons. This is a fight many Australian farmers understand, and it's a fight we can't shy away from. Adani and pro-coal governments are ruining farmers' livelihoods from India to Australia.'
https://www.stopadani.com/stop_adani_statement_of_solidarity
Meanwhile, the Adani Group is asking the Modi government to crack down on the Twitterstorm of dissent erupting throughout India:
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Geoff Law published SBI loan to Adani’s coal mine a risky proposition say analysts, investors in Blog 2020-12-10 10:50:41 +1100
SBI loan to Adani’s coal mine a risky proposition say analysts, investors
In November 2020, news that the State Bank of India was considering loaning AUD $1 billion to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine swept through Australia. Protests erupted. Subsequently, major financial-service companies, including investors in the SBI, have warned of dire consequences if the loan proceeds.
Financial analysts have also been critical. On 8 December, for example, Crikey’s John Quiggin said that a loan to the controversial coal mine would be an even worse investment today than it was when the SBI rejected a similar proposal in 2014. That’s because the mine has been downsized, thereby increasing the proportion of a billion-dollar loan to the overall value of the project. In Quiggin’s words:
'The proposed loan from SBI would amount to half the project’s value. If the project falls short of its goals regarding output, sales price or cost efficiency, SBI will very likely be exposed to some of the loss.'
The downbeat assessment comes in the wake of reports that major investors in the SBI were warning the bank off the Adani coal mine.
On 4 December, Bloomberg reported that US-based BlackRock Inc and Norway’s Storebrand ASA had contacted the SBI about the loan. According to the report, Storebrand said ‘financing new coal plants is clearly not part of a sustainable future.’ BlackRock has raised objections due to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) problems associated with the Carmichael coal mine.
Earlier, the Business Standard reported that the French financial-services giant Amundi had threatened to divest from the SBI if the loan to Adani went ahead.
The majority shareholder of the SBI is the Government of India. The bank is therefore backed by the Indian taxpayer. The close association between India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Adani Group’s founder, Gautam Adani, is notorious. The SBI, in deciding whether to loan a billion dollars to an Adani company, may have to deal with a clash between commercial good sense and hard politics.
The NGO Market Forces has ramped up the pressure on another investor in the State Bank of India, the UK-based bank HSBC, with an email/twitter campaign that can be found here.
According to Market Forces, HSBC is a major green bond arranger for SBI, contributing to hundreds of millions worth of funds for the bank. This capital that HSBC has raised for SBI may have helped free up other funds for SBI to sink into devastating thermal coal projects like Carmichael. Expert economic analysts have called out HSBC for saying one thing but doing another - spruiking its green bonds while remaining silent as their client SBI considers a massive loan to Adani’s climate-wrecking project. Any climate benefit from the green bonds would be overwhelmed by the damage done by the massive Adani coal mine.
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Geoff Law published Senator tables dossier on Adani's atrocious international record in Blog 2020-12-09 11:48:36 +1100
Senator tables dossier on Adani's atrocious international record
An Australian Senator has tabled the AdaniWatch dossier on the atrocious international record of the Adani Group on environmental and social issues.
The Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Nick McKim, last week drew on parts of the dossier in a speech that slammed the Adani Group's proposed Carmichael coal mine.
Senator McKim also described the assaults on indigenous farmers opposing the takeover of their lands for Adani's Godda power station in India. This is the power station (under construction) for which Adani's Carmichael coal is destined. The land was seized from villagers using coercion and underhand tactics.
Also under fire was the Adani Group's deal with the Myanmar Economic Corporation, 'bagman' for the brutal Myanmar military, for a huge port development in Yangon. He quoted Australian human-rights lawyer, Chris Sidoti, who investigated atrocities against Myanmar's Rohingya people for the United Nations and said that Adani would be enriching the culpable generals through its Yangon port development.
Senator McKim chastised the Adani Group's joint venture with palm-oil giant Wilmar, which has profited from the large-scale destruction of rainforests in south-east Asia, including the habitat of elephants and orangutans. The palm-oil operations of Adani Wilmar have also been implicated in human-rights abuses.
Senator McKim described Adani's Carmichael mine, under development in Queensland, as a 'carbon bomb' that would have devastating consequences for the Earth's climate, as well as direct and indirect impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. Vision of his speech can be found here.