Environmental activist Ben Pennings declares ‘massive victory’ after Adani drops its years-long legal pursuit | Carmichael coalmine

Indian mining company Adani has agreed to end its marathon legal action against environmental activist Ben Pennings.

Pennings declared victory on Thursday, after the Queensland Supreme Court approved the orders on Wednesday, ending a five-and-a-half-year court battle. The order requires Pennings not to seek to acquire Adani’s confidential information or ask others to do so, but the company dropped its demand for damages that at one point totaled $600 million.

The affair began in 2020. Adani made an unsuccessful application to conduct an unannounced search of Pennings’ family home in June 2020, looking for possible evidence that he had obtained his confidential information relating to the Carmichael coal mine.

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Court documents in the case detailed that Adani hired a private investigator to monitor the activist and his family members, including taking photos of him accompanying his then nine-year-old daughter to school.

Adani subsequently filed a civil complaint against Pennings, the national spokesperson for the Galilee Blockade Group, alleging that he had sought to disrupt the operations of the Carmichael coal mine, its suppliers and subcontractors.

In 2023, Adani dropped part of its claim that Pennings had illegally accessed secret information.

The longtime activist has repeatedly described the company’s lawsuit as a Slapp lawsuit, a strategic lawsuit against public participation.

At a news conference Thursday, he said his Slapp suit was the largest, longest and most expensive in the nation’s history. He accuses the company of making an example of him in order to scare other opponents of its project.

“Corporate Slapp lawsuits are just an affront to democracy, as far as I’m concerned,” he said, calling on the government to take steps to ban them, as has happened in U.S. states and Europe.

Adani said Pennings had damaged its business. The company claimed its actions caused several contractors to quit, including drilling company Downer.

He alleged that he “orchestrated a sustained campaign” against the Carmichael project, soliciting employees to disclose secret information to him and using it to harass contractors.

Pennings agreed not to obtain confidential information from Adani or ask others to obtain it.

Mick Crowe, chief operating officer of Bravus Mining & Resources (Adani’s Australian mining business), said the company was delighted that Pennings had agreed to make this commitment.

“We filed this lawsuit in the Supreme Court to stop Mr. Pennings from harassing and intimidating our employees and contractors,” he said.

“This claim for damages was never about money. All we wanted was for Mr. Pennings to stop trying to obtain our confidential information and using it to harass and intimidate our contractors and suppliers into pressuring them to stop working with us.

“Over the years, a number of high-profile companies have left us because of his campaign.

“Some of those who stayed with us had to spend money on security to protect themselves from protests, lockdowns and office invasions. »

With the five-year injunction preventing him from campaigning against the company now lifted, Pennings said he intends to immediately resume direct action against the mine.