Jones out to stop Adani loan

UNTIL now, environmentalists have been the main voices opposing Adani’s controversial mega mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, but a TV ad that seeks to “stop the taxpayer loan to Adani” features conservative broadcaster Alan Jones as the face of a new campaign from Lock the Gate.

In the ad, Jones expresses disbelief at the potential use of taxpayer money to help fund the $16.5 billion coal mine.

“How is it that Australian governments are committed to Adani when no bank in the world will lend them money?” he asks.

The radio announcer notes the mine’s owners will also “get their water for nothing”, have been accused of transferring tax and benefits to the Cayman Islands and have family members before the courts in India.

“None of that seems to bother us,” Jones said. “Well, I’m saying to Adani and the governments of Australia, if you think we are that stupid, you need to think again.”

While Jones is not known for being an environmentalist, he is a vocal supporter of farmers and a fierce critic of the Adani mine, which would span 280sq km.

Adani hopes to get a $1 billion loan from the Federal Government’s National Australia Infrastructure Facility to go towards building a rail line from the mine to the Abbot Point port so coal can be shipped overseas.

National Lock the Gate co-ordinator Phil Laird said the overwhelming majority of Australians opposed the idea of public money being directed to support coal mine projects.

The mine would wreak “total havoc on the environment, particularly on groundwater”, he said.

Earlier this year, Jones expressed disbelief about the granting of water licences to Adani, which give the mine unlimited access to groundwater for the next 60 years with no government oversight.