Gautam Adani urges PM to fix native title laws for $21bn mine

Gautam Adani has urged Malcolm Turnbull to fix native title laws to help clear way for $21bn coal project in Queensland.

Malcolm Turnbull and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Akshardham Mandir hindu temple in New Delhi. Picture: AAP.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has urged Malcolm Turnbull to fix native title laws in order to help clear the way for a $21 billion coal project in central Queensland, assuring the Prime Minister the project will create 10,000 jobs and inject huge sums into the economy.

Mr Adani used the private meeting with Mr Turnbull in New Delhi yesterday to press the case for the vast project and highlight the role of a federal government fund in helping to finance a planned rail line to connect the company’s Carmichael coal mine with its Abbott

Point coal loader on the Queensland coast.

The private meeting, which ran for about 30 minutes, came after Mr Adani also spoke to Mr Turnbull at a state banquet hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a long-term friend of the coal and commodities billionaire.

Malcolm Turnbull and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Akshardham Mandir hindu temple in New Delhi. Picture: AAP

The native title dispute pits indigenous groups against Adani over whether to amend the law that governs land use deals between mining companies and indigenous communities, after a Federal Court decision in February overturned agreements that had been in place for years.

Questions over land claims threaten to add to the uncertainty over the Adani mine, which already faces doubts over its financial viability and legal challenges from environmental groups.

Mr Turnbull assured Mr Adani yesterday that he hoped the native title problems would be resolved and he expected they would be resolved. The Federal Court decision undercut the use of Indigenous Land Use Agreements between mining companies and indigenous communities by

ruling that a Western Australian agreement was invalid because it had not been signed by all indigenous representatives.

The federal government has drafted an amendment to the Native Title Act to clarify the law but has failed to get the changes through the Senate, even though Labor has agreed to back the changes.

The Australian was told the discussions between Mr Turnbull and Mr Adani made it clear that any financial support for the company’s rail line would be an independent decision by the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.

Green groups are opposing the financial aid, however, on the grounds that the coal mine should not be helped with loans that are ultimately backed by taxpayers.

Mr Adani’s message to the Prime Minister was that the central Queensland project would inject substantial economic activity into the state, create 4,000 jobs in the first phase and create more than 10,000 jobs over the long-term.

While the government is tight-lipped about its meetings with the company, Mr Adani has told journalists he believes his company is eligible for a $900 million loan from the NAIF.

Mr Adani tweeted a photograph of his handshake with Mr Turnbull at the state banquet with Mr Modi looking on.

Happy to meet with Australian PM today. Working together for economic growth and stronger Australia India ties. pic.twitter.com/TxbMAzJwqr

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) April 10, 2017

“Happy to meet with Australian PM today,” Mr Adani tweeted. “Working together for economic growth and stronger Australia India ties.”