Call for BHP to take corporate responsibility
BHP Annual General Meeting
date : Monday 20 September 1999
Sydney/Melbourne Monday 20 September 1999: Community environment groups today demanded that BHP take greater responsibility for its environmental performance and past environmental practices both overseas and in Australia.
At the BHP annual general meeting in Melbourne and Sydney a representative from the Ok Tedi landowners in Papua New Guinea and activists from Greenpeace Australia and Pacific, the Mineral Policy Institute, the Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign and Friends of the Earth greeted shareholders.
Groups called on BHP to:
Undertake a complete rehabilitation of the damage caused by the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea
Ensure sustainable livelihoods for the people affected by the Ok Tedi mine disaster
Eliminate emissions of the toxic chemicals at all BHP facilities, particularly the Port Kembla Steel smelter
" OK Tedi is still a weeping sore,” said Simon Divecha, spokesperson from the Mineral Policy Institute. “BHP is responsible for the disaster. They remain responsible for as long as the damage lasts, which is at least sixty years, and possibly many more generations.”
The damage from the Ok Tedi mine is much greater than first admitted. The waste rock from the mine has destroyed at least one thousand square kilometres of forest as well as most of the fish in the affected part of the Fly river. The waste will continue to cascade down-river impacting all life in the river as well as the communities around it for decades. The problems will continue even if the mine stops operating tomorrow.
"We would like a clear commitment from BHP senior management that they will stop dioxin emissions from being released into the environment for all their operations," said Olive Rodwell of the Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign.
Testing for the BHP Port Kembla Sinter plant found it is the single largest sources of dioxin in Australia. The Port Kembla facility along with the BHP steel plant in Whyalla were both recently identified by Greenpeace International in its report on Dioxin Hotspots released during the international negotiation in Switzerland earlier this month.
"The big Australian can no longer hide it's head in the sand and hope the problems in PNG and Australia can go away. We insist that the company act responsibly and redress the environmental and social damage of its operations in Papua New Guinea, Newcastle and Port Kembla." stated Damian Sullivan from Friends of the Earth.
"BHP claims new environmental values. But values are judged by action not words. It is time for the company to put up the money to back the rhetoric," said Greenpeace toxics campaigner Matt Ruchel.
The Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign is a coalition of community individuals and groups including the Illawarra Residents Against Toxic Environments (IRATE), Healthy Cities Illawarra, the South Coast Labour Council, (State) Member for Illawarra and (Federal) Member for Throsby.
For More Information contact
Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Matt Ruchel on (0413) 837 136 in Sydney
Or Mineral Policy Institute Campaign Co-ordinator Simon Divecha (0418) 261 404 in Melbourne
Sydney/Melbourne Monday 20 September 1999: Community environment groups today demanded that BHP take greater responsibility for its environmental performance and past environmental practices both overseas and in Australia.
At the BHP annual general meeting in Melbourne and Sydney a representative from the Ok Tedi landowners in Papua New Guinea and activists from Greenpeace Australia and Pacific, the Mineral Policy Institute, the Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign and Friends of the Earth greeted shareholders.
Groups called on BHP to:
" OK Tedi is still a weeping sore,” said Simon Divecha, spokesperson from the Mineral Policy Institute. “BHP is responsible for the disaster. They remain responsible for as long as the damage lasts, which is at least sixty years, and possibly many more generations.”
The damage from the Ok Tedi mine is much greater than first admitted. The waste rock from the mine has destroyed at least one thousand square kilometres of forest as well as most of the fish in the affected part of the Fly river. The waste will continue to cascade down-river impacting all life in the river as well as the communities around it for decades. The problems will continue even if the mine stops operating tomorrow.
"We would like a clear commitment from BHP senior management that they will stop dioxin emissions from being released into the environment for all their operations," said Olive Rodwell of the Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign.
Testing for the BHP Port Kembla Sinter plant found it is the single largest sources of dioxin in Australia. The Port Kembla facility along with the BHP steel plant in Whyalla were both recently identified by Greenpeace International in its report on Dioxin Hotspots released during the international negotiation in Switzerland earlier this month.
"The big Australian can no longer hide it's head in the sand and hope the problems in PNG and Australia can go away. We insist that the company act responsibly and redress the environmental and social damage of its operations in Papua New Guinea, Newcastle and Port Kembla." stated Damian Sullivan from Friends of the Earth.
"BHP claims new environmental values. But values are judged by action not words. It is time for the company to put up the money to back the rhetoric," said Greenpeace toxics campaigner Matt Ruchel.
The Illawarra Dioxin Action Campaign is a coalition of community individuals and groups including the Illawarra Residents Against Toxic Environments (IRATE), Healthy Cities Illawarra, the South Coast Labour Council, (State) Member for Illawarra and (Federal) Member for Throsby.
For More Information contact
Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Matt Ruchel on (0413) 837 136 in Sydney
Or Mineral Policy Institute Campaign Co-ordinator Simon Divecha (0418) 261 404 in Melbourne
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