Santos opponents referred to NACC over failed legal bid to block gas project
Opposition resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald is drafting a letter to the federal corruption watchdog asking it to investigate the conduct of the EDO and the academics they used in their attempt to block Santos’ $5.8bn Barossa gas project.
The Environmental Defenders Office and the consultants they used to prepare the heavily criticised evidence at the centre of their failed legal challenge against oil and gas producer Santos are set to be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Opposition resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald told The Weekend Australian she would draft a letter to NACC asking it to investigate the conduct of the EDO and the academics they used in their attempt to block Santos’ $5.8bn Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea.
Both the EDO and UWA marine geoscientist Michael O’Leary, who prepared expert evidence for the EDO as part of the legal challenge, are recipients of federal grants, which could bring them under the jurisdiction of the federal corruption watchdog.
“I’m very happy to write to the NACC and refer staff of the EDO who have been in any way involved in the manufacturing of evidence. That is a very natural next step,” Senator McDonald said.
“The first place is writing to the NACC and asking them to investigate this commonwealth recipient of funds and to examine those staff members and contractors who have been involved in this case to make sure that they have complied with their obligations as a recipient of taxpayer funds.”
The Federal Court on Thursday ordered the EDO to pay the entirety of the more than $9m in legal costs racked up by Santos in defending itself in the matter brought against it by the EDO on behalf of several Tiwi Islanders.
The case centred on concerns that a proposed 262km underwater gas pipeline across the Timor Sea could interfere with Tiwi Islander spiritual figures the Ampiji (mother serpent) and Jirakupai (crocodile man).
The case against Santos relied heavily on evidence and reports prepared by Dr O’Leary that was excoriated by Federal Court judge Natalie Charlesworth as “so lacking in integrity that no weight can be placed on them”.
Evidence filed as part of the matter showed how academic, legal and activist figures constructed a Songlines map based on guesswork and minimal consultation with Indigenous leaders.
According to a fact sheet published by NACC, the recipients of commonwealth grants can come under the watchdog’s scrutiny.
“A commonwealth grant recipient and their officers and employees can also come within the jurisdiction of the commission if they engage in conduct that adversely affects the honesty and impartiality of a public official’s exercise and performance of their powers, functions and duties,” the fact sheet states.
“Any referrals to the commission regarding the conduct of commonwealth grant recipients require assessment on a case-by-case basis to determine if they are within the commission’s jurisdiction.”
Senator McDonald said the case represented an opportunity for NACC to set a precedent around the expected conduct of commonwealth grant recipients.
“Justice Charlesworth has been really clear that there has been a conspiracy and co-ordination of evidence and the creation of evidence to fit the agenda of stopping that project from going ahead,” she said.
“I would go so far as to say it’s a form of economic terrorism to be trying to stop or at the very best delay and obfuscate those projects, that make it harder for that investment and future projects to go ahead. The idea of a referral to a NACC would provide a precedent that if you’re involved with the fabrication of evidence … there’s a clear understanding that’s outside the bounds of taxpayer-funded grants.”
According to his academic page on the University of Western Australia website, Dr O’Leary has two active commonwealth grants from the Australian Research Council. He also previously received a grant from the ARC for the Deep History of Sea Country project, the findings of which have been criticised by some rivals.
The EDO was approached for comment.
Both UWA and Dr O’Leary declined to comment.
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