Anti-coal activist to pay Adani legal costs

A judge has ordered anti-coal activist Ben Pennings to pay 60 per cent of Adani Australia's legal costs stemming from his court battle to access confidential information. The court-room wrangle over that information stems from Adani and the Carmichael Rail Network's legal action against Mr Pennings, accusing him of trespassing, breach of contract, intimidation and conspiracy to injure. Marque Lawyers partner Kiera Peacock, acting for Mr Pennings, said the Supreme Court had formalised orders agreed out of court by the parties confirming that he would be allowed to see confidential information that underpinned Adani’s allegations against him. “Adani had previously refused to contemplate a confidentiality regime which allowed Ben to see any of this material, asking the Court to make orders permanently banning him from being shown it,” she said. But an Adani Australia spokeswoman said the court orders were just as the company had sought to achieve - ensuring that Mr Pennings would not receive access to contractors' confidential information. He would instead be provided redacted, restricted and supervised access to limited parts of Adani's documentation, she said. “We have gone to great lengths to ensure that our confidential commercial information, including the identity of our contractors, remains protected. This decision, and the additional undertakings the Court required Mr Pennings to give, vindicates that effort," she said. “We will now consider our next steps in respect to our larger legal case against Mr Pennings, where we claim that Mr Penning has orchestrated a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation against Adani’s business, employees, contractors and potential business partners spanning almost a decade. “Justice (Sue) Brown today ordered that Mr Pennings pay 60 per cent of our costs in relation to the recent confidentiality application. Adani is not required to pay any of Mr Pennings’ costs." The company spokeswoman said Adani Australia had previously made offers to Mr Pennings to settle this matter and remained open to constructive discussion that may bring the proceedings to a close. “This is not about inflicting hardship on Mr Pennings or his family, rather we are enforcing our rights to carry out our business and give regional Queenslanders a fair go in terms of jobs and contracting opportunities" she said. “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. “And while this behaviour has had no immediate impact on our progress, it has put our employees, contractors and the activists themselves in potential danger.” Galilee Blockade founder Ben Pennings, is being sued by Adani Australia. Mr Pennings said Adani had wanted him to defend himself in the Supreme Court without ever seeing specific allegations against him. "I’m happy I can now defend the case knowing exactly what Adani alleges,” he said. “Gautam Adani can always outspend me in court because he has 60 billion dollars more than me. "Five thousand concerned citizens have already donated to my legal fund and I’m excited to ultimately win this case on behalf of all Australians because it threatens our political freedom.” On the issue of the court order on legal costs, Ms Peacock said Mr Pennings respected the Court’s decision and was considering the reasons provided by Judge Brown. The court will hear the remainder of the parties’ outstanding applications on August 27.

Anti-coal activist to pay Adani legal costs

Industry Queensland

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