Adani Australia is back in the Queensland Supreme Court today as the civil legal proceedings that Adani has brought against anti-fossil fuel activist Ben Pennings continue.
Adani is alleging that Mr Pennings has been instrumental in organising blockades and the occupation of offices and industrial premises of many of its existing and potential suppliers, as well as some organisations that have no association with Adani.
Adani claims that Mr Pennings has caused distress to workers whose offices he has entered and he has used intimidation in an attempt to force meetings with executives.
Adani further claims that Mr Pennings has live-streamed videos of Adani’s employees and its contractors and used their images without their consent or knowledge across social media channels in an alleged attempt to belittle and intimidate them.
Today an Adani Australia spokesperson said:
“In this case, which began in 2020, we allege Mr Pennings has orchestrated a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation against Adani’s business, employees, contractors and potential business partners spanning almost a decade.
“Mr Pennings has stated publicly on various occasions that he has information about our business which he obtained as part of his ‘Dob in a Contractor’ campaign, and we allege he has used this information to undertake harassment and intimidation of our employees and contractors.
“Today we are asking that the court orders Mr Pennings to provide the information he has gathered through his campaigns to us.
“This follows a recent Supreme Court order stating that Mr Pennings is required to pay 60 per cent of Adani’s legal costs after he unsuccessfully sought to gain access to our confidential information. Adani is not required to pay any of Mr Pennings’ costs.
“This Supreme Court decision ensured Mr Pennings will not receive access to contractors’ confidential information, but would instead be provided redacted, restricted and supervised access to limited parts of our documentation. This was expressly what we had asked the Court to order.
“This legal action does not seek to limit free speech. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe a diversity of views is an important part of democracy.”
The case pursues Mr Pennings, and potentially some of his associates, for the commission of multiple torts against Adani. Chief among them are:
- Trespass on land;
- Trespass against goods;
- Inducing breach of contract;
- Tort of intimidation;
Adani is seeking compensation for the loss arising from these torts. Adani is also seeking permanent injunctions against Mr Pennings and any of his associates who have been involved in tortious activities against Adani.
Mr Pennings will have the opportunity to defend every claim put forward by Adani.
