Calling out name change
THE renaming of Adani Australia to Bravus Mining has been called out by environmental activists as “polishing a turd”.
More than 20 activists pitched up outside the mining company’s headquarters in Townsville with a giant paper mache poop.
Frontline Action on Coal spokeswoman Kate Baldry said the group was “calling it out for what it is”.
“We don’t think you can polish a turd, Adani’s name is not the problem. The … company … is having trouble securing contractors, insurance and currently have no finance,” she said.
“It’s that they’re fundamentally a toxic brand for what they do and what they stand for.”
Last month Adani renamed its Abbot Point coal port to North Queensland Export Terminal. In September the company launched its own rail business to haul coal to its port under the guise of Bowen Rail Company.
The rebranding to Bravus, which is Latin for brave and courageous, was made to mark the 10-year anniversary of the company’s operations in Australia. When asked if the move was about helping silence criticism from anti-adani protesters, chief executive David Boshoff said no.
“If we were motivated by external factors we would have changed the name earlier,” Mr Boshoff said.
“We are not motivated by that, we have tremendous support in the regions.” But the activists rejected that, saying they didn’t see a reason to move away from a brand that’s internationally known.
“It’s rather convenient that it’s coming at a time where they’re finding … they don’t have any finance, they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel for insurance so we think there’s another reason that they’re not admitting to why they tried to rebrand,” Ms Baldry said.
So far, the Carmichael Project has generated 1500 jobs for the regions and given out more than $1.5bn in contracts, 90 per cent to Queensland companies.
Police attended the rally and activists were issued with banning notices and made to leave the property. No arrests were made.