Greens senator Jordon Steele-John labels Adani “corrupt mine”
Greens senator calls Carmichael project a “corrupt mine”, despite no proof of any wrongdoing.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has labelled the Adani Carmichael project a “corrupt mine” as anti-mining protesters march in Brisbane months after Bob Brown’s controversial anti-Adani convoy,
Defending the protests today on Sky News, Senator Steele-John said the mine was “corrupt” despite no proof of any wrongdoing in relation to the project.
“The Australian government’s got a very clear choice to make. Either this corrupt mine in Queensland or the entire future of the Australian youth generation and our ability to live in a safe climate,” he told Sky News. “You cannot have both. There is such thing as a carbon budget and this mine blows out.”
Senator Steele-John in the same interview rolled back his claim the project itself was corrupt, and said it was Adani’s actions globally that were allegedly disreputable.
“If you look at the record of the Adani company around the world you will find a corporation mired in scandal after scandal when it comes to interference with government and environmental processes and procedures.
Adani’s Australian outfit today dismissed Senator Steele-John’s claims of corruption.
“We recognise that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however we encourage people to base their opinion on facts,” an Adani spokeswoman told The Australian.
Adani’s parent company has faced multiple fraud and other corruption probes in its home country of India in recent years accusations of siphoning money offshore and artificially inflating power prices at the expense of Indian consumers.
Adani Australia has not been accused of corruption in relation to its Queensland project and has gone through multiple state and federal approval processes in recent years.
Nationals MP Keith Pitt was on air with Senator Steele-John today and called on him to withdraw the accusation.
“You should take the opportunity to withdraw that. You can’t make allegations of corruption publicly about a public company which employs Australians,” he responded on Sky.
“It must comply with our laws, which it will. It must comply with our environmental standards, which it has … They have jumped through every single hurdle.”