Mine protest at Commonwealth Bank
TOOWOOMBA environmentalists are planning to protest outside the Commonwealth Bank at Grand Central today.
Billed as a peaceful action, members of the group Toowoomba StopAdani will gather outside the bank in a bid to stop it funding the proposed Carmichael thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin.
The protest group wants the bank to rule out “further dirty investments in fossil fuels”.
It comes after News Corp reported in May that a $1.6 million deposit from Indian company Adani was paid to the Department of Natural Resources and Mines using a Commonwealth Bank account.
The bank has since been targeted by green groups and released a statement last Tuesday stating, “We believe people have the right to express their views as long as they do so in a peaceful manner in compliance with the law and common standards of courtesy.
“We do not comment on specific customer relationships, existing or past. However in terms of the proposed Galilee basin, we have not been approached to provide finance for any project.”
The Toowoomba protest group is calling for residents to join them in their demonstration from 11am.
The group claims the Commonwealth Bank is the only one of the big four banks to offer funding for the mine.
The group last week protested outside the Ruthven St Commonwealth Bank branch.
“We are asking the Commonwealth Bank to walk away from this venture and reflect their (climate change) policy,” a spokesman said.
The Carmichael mine is thought to be worth about $16.5 billion and will produce 60 million tonnes of coal a year.