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BHP Billiton World Heritage Hypocrisy Revealed at AGM in Melbourne
Thursday 13 November 2003
BHP BILLITON’S WORLD HERITAGE HYPOCRISY Revealed at AGM in MelbourneThe BHPB AGM was held in Melbourne today, with shareholders demanding answers regarding the company’s intentions and activities in relation to a proposal to mine nickel on Gag Island in West Papua.
The Chair, Don Argus, claimed that the proposed mine on Gag Island has closed down due to the area’s protected forest status, and refused to admit to any knowledge of efforts by the company to pressure the Indonesian government to overturn this protected status. The Chair refused to give an assurance that BHPB wouldn’t mine in the area before the World Heritage values of Gag Island were formally recognized.
Senator Bob Brown has called on BHPB to refrain from mining on Gag Island and to cut out its World Heritage hypocrisy. “BHPB knows full well that Gag Island has world heritage values, and that UNESCO has put it on its tentative world heritage list. BHPB’s proposal to mine there means that a precious gem of our global heritage will be destroyed before there is any chance of it being world heritage listed.”
The Chair, Don Argus, repeated his earlier denial at the London AGM of knowledge of efforts by the company, who requested and received the assistance of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, to pressure the Indonesia government to provide the mining giant with an exception to the conservation legislation that prevents it from exploiting a lease in a protected forest.
He also asserted his lack of knowledge on the matter, despite having been requested the previous week in a question on notice by the BHPB Shareholders for Social Responsibility to provide information on the activities of the company to lobby or pressure the Indonesian government to allow it to mine on Gag Island. When asked if anyone else on the Board knew about these efforts, he refused to answer, but when pushed said he would ask the board at the next meeting.
“It is outrageous that the chair of BHPB can continue to deny knowledge of this matter, when it has been raised with him a number of times, and shareholders have requested him to address it. The circumstances around his denial, and the fact that he had this question on notice would lead us to believe that he is either deliberately misleading shareholders regarding the matter, or completely and utterly incompetent.” stated Techa Beaumont of the Mineral Policy Institute.
On two separate occasions in Federal Parliament Minister Downer confirmed that requests were made by BHPB for assistance in lobbying efforts and that representations were made by the Australian embassy on behalf of BHPB and other Australian mining companies
Media personality, Andrew Denton, who is a shareholder of BHPB, offered to pay for a clipping service for the Chair who claimed to have no knowledge of the matter at all, despite media reporting on the issue, including an article in the Financial review in July 2003 which explicitly mentioned BHPB, and its ‘intensive lobbying efforts’ to gain access to the Gag Island deposit.
BHPB were also grilled on their failure to engage or compensate Indigenous groups who claimed rights over the island and on their commitment to respect the universal values of World Heritage properties. BHPB was asked whether they would refrain from mining on the island, in a region which is stated by UNESCO as having the richest coral reefs in the world, and is being considered for World Heritage, until the processes necessary for assessing its’ status were completed. Chip Goodyear refused to do so, indicating that the company is considering mining in the area before processes for formally acknowledging its world heritage value are completed.
For more information, please contact:
Techa Beaumont
Executive Director
Workphone: +61 2 9557 9019
Mobile: +61 (0) 409 318 406
Created: 01 Jan 1970 | Last updated: 09 Nov 2003
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