Indian mining company Adani has agreed to end a lengthy legal action by environmental activist Ben Pennings.
Pennings announced victory on Thursday after the Queensland Supreme Court signed off on the orders on Wednesday, ending a five-and-a-half-year court battle. The order states that Pennings will not attempt to obtain Adani’s confidential information or ask others to do so.
The case started in 2020. Adani made an unsuccessful application in June 2020 to have an unannounced search of Pennings’ family home, for possible evidence that he had obtained confidential information from it relating to the Carmichael coal mine.
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Court documents in that case detailed that Adani hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on the worker and his family members, including taking photographs of him taking his nine-year-old daughter to school.
Adani then filed a civil claim against Pennings, national spokesperson for the Galilee Blockade Group, alleging that he had tried to disrupt the operations of the Carmichael coal mine, its suppliers and contractors.
In 2023, Adani removed the part of its claim that Pennings had obtained classified information illegally.
“I’m very glad this tragic case is over, but I’m furious that the current law allows this,” Pennings said Thursday.
“Adani has deliberately abused our court system with five volumes of claims against me over five years. They tried to silence me forever but I can again speak out openly about the damage they are doing to Australia’s democracy and precious places.”
Pennings said he intended to immediately return to direct action against the mine.
Pennings said, “This is a huge victory for everyone who believes in democracy, freedom of speech, and the right to protest. It shows that ordinary people can protest against corporate bullying and win. I’m so grateful to my family, my community, and everyone who helped me fight this.”
Adani said Pennings had harmed its business. The company claimed that their actions caused several contractors to leave their jobs, including drilling company Downer.
It alleged that he “wage a sustained campaign” against the Carmichael project, asking employees to leak secret information to him and that he had used it to harass contractors.
Pennings has agreed not to obtain confidential Adani information or ask others to obtain it.
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Mick Crowe, chief operating officer of Bravus Mining and Resources (the Australian subsidiary of Adani Group), said the business was pleased that Pennings had agreed to the venture.
“We launched this legal action in the Supreme Court to stop Mr. Pennings from harassing and intimidating our employees and contractors,” he said.
“This damages claim was never about money. We just wanted Mr. Pennings to stop trying to obtain our confidential information and use it to harass and intimidate our contractors and suppliers so that they would stop working with us.
“His campaigning over the past few years has led to many high-profile businesses moving away from us.
“Some of those who stayed with us had to spend money on security to protect themselves from protests, lockouts and office invasions.”
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