Australia: Indigenous people call on Siemens to suspend Adani contract over alleged breach of their FPIC rights; incl. company response
German company Siemens has come under fire for its involvement with a heavily criticised new Adani Carmichael coalmine in Australia. Siemens is contracted to provide signalling work on the project rail line. In December 2019, Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser announced the Board would review Siemens involvement in the project; yet subsequently issued a statement confirming they would not cancel the contract with Adani.
According to the statement, the project was also "approved" by the indigenous Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people which was "very important to [Siemens]". This approval is strongly disputed by the W&J Council. In a letter addressed to the CEO, they claim the project was approved without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and call on Siemens to suspend the contract.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Siemens to respond to the letter from the W&J Council. Their response is available below.