In a letter sent to its CEO Joe Kaeser, the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Council has challenged international German tech company Siemens AG to meet with its representatives. It has called on the corporation to prove it conducted due diligence regarding their rights as First Nations people when entering into a contract with Adani Mining in Australia, and to suspend its contract with the industrial conglomerate...

We are particularly concerned by the CEO’s statement that said: “the Adani mining project has been approved by the Government of Australia, the Highest Courts and – very important to us – the indigenous Wangan and Jagalingou people.” ...

The Adani Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) that Siemens relies on was rendered invalid by a Federal Court decision in 2017. It was only rescued by the intervention of the Commonwealth Attorney General in one of W&J’s court proceedings, and by amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 to ensure the ILUA survived summary dismissal...

This ‘approval’ therefore remains highly contested and controversial in Australia, and lacks the legitimacy of genuine FPIC. It is not in accord with our traditional laws and customs for decision making; and the numbers are misleading because they are not a true representation of the W&J people...