Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week I met with representatives from communities that continue to be devastatingly impacted by the Mariana dam disaster that occurred on 5 November 2015. They made the long journey from Brazil to speak with parliamentarians in this place about their fight in the High Court in London with BHP and Vale. The Mariana dam disaster was the biggest of its kind in Brazil. The bursting of the tailings dam released 40 million cubic metres of toxic mining waste, including arsenic and mercury, killing 19 people and affecting as many as 700,000 people, many of them indigenous Brazilians. It was one of the biggest environmental, economic and social disasters in Brazilian history.

The legacy of the devastation is long lasting. Their extensive legal battle to seek compensation from BHP for damage to their homes and livelihoods is, unfortunately, all too familiar. Rather than be accountable for the disaster, BHP has continued to play legal games. It's reminiscent of Rio Tinto's initial response to the Juukan Gorge debacle. The Brazilian first nations delegation I met this week have persistently stood up to BHP's intimidating wealth and influence.

The issues these representatives raised with me are deeply concerning. The Krenak and Borunpeople constitute the last Botocudos of the east of Brazil. This indigenous population has a spiritual connection with the Doce River, which translates to English as 'sweet river'. Their entire way of life has been affected by the pollution of this important river. The Krenak can no longer fish or bathe in the river. I want to share the voices of representatives from the Krenak indigenous community about their persistent fight for compensation from the mining companies following the 2015 disaster. The delegation told me:

This time we fight for our river. The River Doce was destroyed beyond recognition after the dam collapsed and to us, it is like a mother, or a father. The devastation of our river feels as if a member of our family has been killed. It is now a dead river.

We have a saying in Brazil, 'if you are not seen you are forgotten'. We are here to keep reminding BHP, the Brazilian government, and the world to remember us. We will keep fighting until we get justice, and we will keep reminding people who we are and why we matter.

We wish we could be remembered for our traditions and our cultures, but our tribe are always fighting for the rights to our lands, the rights to respect and now the right to justice. We know we won't get justice in Brazil, this is why we have come to England to fight for justice.

BHP need to be held accountable for their operations, whether in Australia, the United Kingdom or Brazil. It's not good enough that big multinationals continue to sidestep their responsibilities for human rights and cleaning up environmental damage from their activities. The Australian Council of Trade Unions are supporting the Krenak at a protest at BHP's office in Melbourne tomorrow. I stand in solidarity with them too.

Rather than fairly compensate the hundreds and thousands of Brazilians who have been smashed by BHP's environmental catastrophe, BHP are spending millions running a lobbying campaign in Australia—a lobbying campaign to keep their labour hire loophole open. While BHP are dumping toxic sludge on first nations communities in Brazil, they are ripping off their workers in Australia with their labour hire loophole. BHP used to be known as the big Australian, just as Qantas used to be known as the spirit of Australia. Both BHP and Qantas need to stop trading off the Australian reputation while behaving in a completely un-Australian way, as we've seen in their campaign to keep the Joyce loopholes. Do the right thing. Stop the nonsense campaign and its propaganda, pay your workers fairly and fairly compensate the communities you have destroyed in Brazil.

I'm intending to contact the Brazilian embassy in Canberra and convey my disappointment about how BHP has treated their citizens. It's important we support the Krenak community and raise these concerns.