Ironclad assurance? Adani not to employ Indians, other foreigners in $16.5 billion Australian coal mining project

By A Representative
No Indians would be allowed employment in the Adani Group’s controversial $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mining project in Queensland province. Melbourne-based South Asia Times (SAT) has quoted group chairman Gautam Adani as having assured the Australian authorities that he would not bring any foreign workers for his project.
SAT in a report from Melbourne says, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszuk told newspersons that she had received an “ironclad” guarantee from Gautam Adani during her meeting with him that there will be “no foreign workers brought under the 457 visas for the $ 16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine project.”
Pointing out that “there is no written agreement on it”, SAT says, “The Queensland Premier announced this after a meeting with the Adani Group boss in Townsville.”
Gautam Adani, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier had a meeting the Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull at a private meeting in Melbourne and briefed him project details.
Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that Queensland opposition leader Tim Nicholls said, written assurances about the decision not to bring any foreign workers for the project “would be preferable.”
“The Premier has said she takes Adani at this word and that’s fine, but I would have thought it would have been better to assure Queenslanders that we had some written commitments that jobs from this project will go to Queenslanders,” Nicholls has been quoted as saying.
In a related development, the Adani Group has announced that five regional towns will provide vital support services for the projects. In a media release, the Chief Executive of Adani Australian, Jeyakumar Janakaraj, said, Emerald, Clermont, Moranbah, Collinsville and Charters Towers would be “the source of support services, including workers for its projects.”
“We are particularly focusing on the construction of our planned near-400km rail line to be constructed between the Carmichael mine and our bulk port facility at Abbott Point near Bowen,” Janakaraj said.
“So we need people and services in the region to build that rail link, as well as companies to provide resources.”
“The provision of goods, services and labour from the regional towns would be supplemented by Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville”, Janakarajan said, adding, “Townsville would be the site of the regional headquarters for the Carmichael coal mine project.”
Janakaraj also said that Townsville would also be home base for the company’s project management office, and provide port services for incoming materials. The original plan of the company was to have the project offices in Brisbane, one of the biggest cities of Australia.
Gautam Adani’s assurances to the country’s authorities came following the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)-sponsored rally in Melbourne against the coal mining project. ACF called the decision to allow the project to go ahead a “dirty deal”.
It said, “This coal mine would be a global climate catastrophe. It is dangerous to our planet and the people and places we love. Australians don’t want this mine, we want our reef and a clean, safe future.”
Hitting out at Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull, the environmental group said, he has “a clear choice – honour an iron clad election promise or do a dirty deal with Adani to use Australian taxpayers’ money to fund a coal-carting railway line from the Galilee Basin to the Great Barrier Reef coast.”
Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council, which has opposed the project for long, said, it would file a fresh court action against the proposed project, regretting the Adani Group chairman did not meet them.

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, the artist who survived Stalin's cultural purges

By Harsh Thakor* Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov (September 14, 1885 – April 20, 1964) was a Soviet artist, professor, academician, and teacher. His work was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest artistic honour of the USSR. His paintings traced the development of socialist realism in the visual arts while retaining qualities drawn from impressionism. Gerasimov reconciled a lyrical approach to nature with the demands of Soviet socialist ideology.

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel* The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?

Development at what cost? The budget's blind spot for the environment

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The historical ills in the relationship between capital and the environment have now manifested in areas commonly referred to as the "environmental crisis." This includes global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, the devastation of tropical forests, mass mortality of fish, species extinction, loss of biodiversity, poison seeping into the atmosphere and food, desertification, shrinking water supplies, lack of clean water, and radioactive pollution.

Public money, private profits: Crop insurance scheme as goldmine for corporates

By Vikas Meshram The farmer in India is not merely a food provider; he is the soul of the nation. For centuries, enduring natural calamities and bearing debt generation after generation while remaining loyal to the soil, this community now finds itself trapped in a different kind of crisis. In February 2016, the Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with the stated objective of freeing farmers from the shackles of debt. It was an ambitious attempt to provide a strong safety net to cultivators repeatedly devastated by excessive rainfall, drought, and hailstorms.

Search This Blog