As Adani starts clearing at its mine site, Adani is back in court, facing a fresh prosecution for allegedly providing false and misleading information to the Queensland government covering up land clearing at the Carmichael mine. This is a serious criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of $2.8 million for the company or two years in prison.*

Water engineer Dr Anne Gardiner said, “These serious allegations show once again that Adani cannot be trusted. If Adani can’t tell the truth, and try to cover up land clearing works, then how can they be trusted to keep Queensland’s land and water safe?”

“Adani is a serial offender. Before they secured final approvals in June they faced prosecution for polluting the Great Barrier Reef and fines for releasing contaminated water into sensitive wetlands. This rogue company acts as a law unto themselves - both in Australia and overseas.”

“This prosecution by the Queensland government is only about the false information included in returns, not the allegation that they illegally cleared land and drilled bores. But that is actually very important. Most of the environmental conditions on their approvals rely on self reporting by Adani and they clearly cannot be counted on to do that honestly.”

“This is a reminder of why the majority of Queenslanders do not trust Adani or want the mine to proceed. Allowing Adani to extract artesian basin water as well as the flows from the Suttor River without being held accountable is a scary prospect for the farmers of the Galilee Basin.”

“We know that digging and mining coal drives more dangerous climate change. The community will not let Adani off the hook and we will continue to bear witness to Adani’s unethical practices and work to stop this mine going ahead.”

*https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-16/adani-facing-prosecution-queensland-government-carmichael-mine/11314970?fbclid=IwAR1trJYFiCf9H8RGEMzNRHtitEqy2qqprHsdG6fB3CWAVJ4pSUSTUFvw3rc