Tiwi islanders accuses banks of human rights failure after concerns raised over Santos funding
Market Forces says banks such as CBA, NAB, and Westpac have refused to engage with a human rights complaint over their funding of gas company Santos.
Environmental lobby group Market Forces has accused 11 banks of failing in their responses to human rights complaints over funding Santos’ proposed $5.5bn Barossa gas project.
In a report published on Thursday, Equity Generation Lawyers said a number of local and offshore banks had failed to address human rights concerns raised by traditional owner groups from the Tiwi and Larrakia communities, who claim they will be affected by Santos’ projects.
Equity Generation Lawyers took aim at a coterie of local and international banks known to be funding Santos’ plans for the Barossa gas fields, which have faced a number of legal challenges.
Equity Generation Lawyers, the legal firm behind a number of legal victories opposing coal mining projects, has been assisting traditional owners in opposing the Barossa project.
The concerns are over a $US1bn ($1.5bn) loan to fund works at the Darwin liquefied natural gas facilities.
Tiwi islanders, through Equity Generation Lawyers, have raised its concerns with NAB, Westpac, ANZ and Commonwealth Bank. All the banks participated in a syndicated loan to Santos in August 2022.
Equity Generation Lawyers, which has sought to oppose Santos and Woodside gas projects over concerns about their potential greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact, claimed all the banks “did not know how Santos was going to use the money, despite the syndicated US$1bn to Santos arising from a previous loan for the acquisition of the Barossa project”.
Equity Generation Lawyers said the Australian banks “overwhelmingly have failed to abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, despite their commitment to the UNGPs in establishing their human rights credentials”.
Equity Generation Lawyers associate Vidhya Karnamadakala said the banks were dismissing issues raised by Indigenous groups “without once talking to them”.
“It shows a fundamental disregard for the very international human rights standards the banks claim to act in line with,” she said.
“It is deeply troubling that Australian banks claim to support self-determination, and free, prior and informed consent but refuse to acknowledge the serious human rights impacts of their financing activities on traditional owners.”
Equity Generation Lawyers said the banks were relying on a view that the funds were a corporate loan, rather than specific project financing for the Barossa project.
Equity Generation Lawyers said CBA was the only Australian bank that lacked a grievance mechanism to raise concerns over its part-funding of Santos’ projects.
Equity Generation Lawyers said a number of international banks had also either failed to respond to attempts to raise grievances or dismissed them “without any consultation or engagement”.
They said lenders Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation had all failed to respond.
RBC, ING and DNB have all previously acted as lenders to Santos.
Equity Generation Lawyers said DNB had told it the bank had “carried out human rights due diligence of Santos Ltd at several stages of the client relationship, and prior to every credit decision” but noted it did not “provide any detail regarding the outcome” of the reviews.
Market Forces acting chief executive Will van de Pol said it was “disgraceful” that Australian and international banks were failing to respond to complaints raised by Indigenous groups.
“Customers and shareholders will not accept these banks prioritising their cosy relationship with Santos, one of Australia‘s dirtiest and most destructive gas companies, over the rights of traditional owners,” he said.
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