Australian greens accuse Adani Group of making "false promises" of economic benefits from coalmining project

A GetUp! poster against Adanis in Australia

By Our Representative
In a development which may go a long way adversely the powerful industrial group of Adanis’, currently involved in a legal tangle in a land court in Australia’s Queensland province for obtaining permission to go ahead with one of the world’s biggest coalmining projects, the British daily Guardian has reported the “Indian conglomerate” has admitted it will not be able to “generate” 10,000 jobs it had previously promised.
“Australia’s largest coalmine would deliver only a fraction of the jobs and state government payments promised by the company, Queensland’s land court has heard”, daily says.

It adds, “The Carmichael mine in central Queensland and the related Abbot Point coal port would generate 1,464 jobs and up to $4.8bn in royalties, an expert economic witness for Adanis has told the court”.
The daily quotes Jerome Fahrer, an economic consultant commissioned by Adanis to model the outputs of its proposed 30-year coalmine, as telling the court that state royalties to Queensland would “range from $3.7bn to $4.8bn when discounting for inflation”, adding “His modelling also shows a total of 1,464 jobs, which includes related indirect jobs generated by the mine, over 30 years.”
“The figures are a far cry from the 10,000 jobs and $22bn Adani has used in seeking government approval for the mine and a public relations campaign aimed at negating public opposition over its impact on the Great Barrier Reef through shipping and emissions”, the daily, which is the winner of Pulitzer Prize for 2014, said.
“The company’s projections were endorsed as recently as last week by the new state Labour government in justifying its qualified support of the mine”, the Guardian says, adding, “The new figures were revealed on Monday during a cross-examination of Adani witness Fahrer by barrister Saul Holt for the conservation group Coast and Country.”
Australian conservationists have gone to the land court seeking it recommend refusal of Adanis’ applications for an environmental approval and a mining lease for the $10 billion project. The news that only a “fraction” of the promised jobs would be created has led top environmental group GetUp! to declare that this is yet another proof that that Adanis can't be trusted. It has said, “There was one argument left in favour of it - jobs. Now we know they don't exist.”
Meanwhile, an Adanis’ spokesman went in for a firefighting mode in Australia, saying the company stood by its “commitment to deliver $22bn in taxes and royalties for Queensland”, adding, the “full context of Dr Fahrer’s modelling and its assumptions have not been disclosed”.
“The land court process relates to the economic benefits of the mine at Carmichael – it does not envisage the combined tax and royalty, direct and indirect, construction and operational job benefits of Adani’s mine, rail and port projects,” he said.
“It’s highly problematic that we don’t have government agencies that undertake and scrutinise this work and it’s really reliant on organisations or landholders or companies impacted by the proposed development to have to undertake this themselves”, he added.
Another Australian daily, the Sydney Morning Herald, meanwhile, has said that the Adani Group is facing a strong challenge from “a conservation group in the land court of Queensland to stop it proceeding with its $10 billion Galilee Basin thermal coal mine and infrastructure project.” It adds, “Taking the stand on Friday was Adani Mining's financial controller Rajesh Gupta whose performance when cross-examined ranged from unconvincing to embarrassingly vague and forgetful.”
“Among the key things to emerge so far: Adani had previously announced the conditional sale of T1, its terminal at Abbot Point, to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Now, as revealed earlier this year by Fairfax Media, Adani has confirmed the sale has not happened”, the daily reports.

Comments

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani* India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor* Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas* November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor* Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor* Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Search This Blog