photographer. Still FLAC footage.
Accusations that Adani protestors and ‘anti-coal activists have thrown rocks and kicked the doors of cars and utes belonging to people working on our Carmichael Project’ by Adani Australia have been refuted by the group Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC) group who were blocking the workers route to work yesterday.
The activists had set up a protest yesterday morning at 5.15am, Thursday, 8 October, 2020, where one protestor, Ben Winch, had locked on to a cattlegrid and blocked the access road for workers that leads to the Adani’s Carmichael rail corridor.
‘They did this out of their sincere concerns for the safety impacts of the Adani Carmichael mine’s carbon emissions and water usage,’ said a spokesperson for Frontline Action.
‘When a car of Adani staff pulled up, one of the staff members got out and threw a punch at a photographer who was documenting the protest. The photographer ducked and did not retaliate. All activists involved at Frontline Action on Coal undergo de-escalation training as part of our collective commitment to non-violence.’
Queensland Police arrived at the scene at approximately 9.30am and activists claim Adani staff members provided false statements to the police about the incident.
‘Adani’s claims are blatantly false and a dishonest attempt to tarnish the reputation of peaceful protestors,’ said Frontline Action on Coal spokesperson Andy Paine.
‘Adani has a proven track record of lying. They were forced to admit in court they had wildly exaggerated job numbers. They were found guilty of failing to disclose illegal land clearing. Most recently a Queensland court found Adani had engaged in “unconscionable conduct” ripping off customers of its coal port and ordered Adani to pay $100 million in damages.
‘Now they are accusing activists of violent acts they did not commit, just to cover up the assault by their own staff. They are even going as far as making these false claims to the Queensland Police. FLAC will be reporting the unprovoked assault incident to Police and releasing footage of it.
‘Adani are serial liars, they can’t be trusted to tell the truth. So how can Queenslanders trust them with our precious water that their climate wrecking mega mine has been granted an unlimited license to deplete for 60 years? When over 65 per cent of Queensland is in drought we cannot afford to hand over precious water to coal mining companies that are making climate change and drought even worse. And when our government is sacrificing our future to make deals with immoral companies like Adani, everyday people with a conscience need to continue taking direct action to protect our water and climate.’
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