Land dealings lead the way

A Townsville lawyer believes Adani has set the standard for how mining companies should deal with landholders when negotiating to acquire land needed for large-scale projects.
Emanate Legal’s Barry Taylor has been dealing with Adani since 2010 and has acted for many of the landholders involved in the sale of land required for the Carmichael mine and the rail line proposed between the mine and Abbot Point coal loading facility.
Mr Taylor believed many Australian mining companies could take a leaf out of Adani’s book when it came to dealing respectfully with landholders.
‘’The way Adani have conducted themselves compares more than favourably with some Australian mining companies I have dealt with who have been nothing short of belligerent and aggressive,’’ he said.
‘’Adani have never adopted that sort of an attitude and I believe they have set a template for how to conduct these sort of negotiations with landholders.
‘’Adani could have been aggressive in their dealings with landholders but have adopted a reasonable approach.’’
Mr Taylor first dealt with Adani in 2010 when it expressed interest in securing the cattle property on which the mine sits, which was owned by the Acton Land and Cattle Company.
Acton sold the property to Adani for $110 million in November 2011.
While Mr Taylor admits some landholders in the area would have preferred the status quo to remain, they recognised that Adani had been granted the right by the State Government to develop the mine and rail corridor.
“With that in mind, it has been a matter of balancing the landholders’ rights and requirements against those of Adani,’’ Mr Taylor said.
“All of the land holders in the area are going to be affected by the rail corridor and I believe they have been compensated reasonably and fairly.
“Negotiations have taken place in good spirit.’’

Article originally published on page 22 of iQ Industry Queensland - click here to view