Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 25 April 2022
Brazilian company JBS ushered into Tasmanian salmon industry despite record of corruption and bribery
Australians should vote for a government that rules out corruption.
Governments and Members of Parliament who knowingly usher corrupt companies into Australia should be voted out, Bob Brown Foundation’s Marine Campaigners warn voters, after a damning story about JBS meat and salmon company went to air tonight.
Australian broadcaster ABC’s Four Corners has lifted the lid on the details of meat-giant JBS’s dark side including purchasing of competitors, corruption, bribery, workers’ rights violations and environmental degradation. Back in October 2021, Bob Brown Foundation protested the JBS takeover of salmon company Huon Aquaculture, calling it the “worst day in history for Tasmania’s oceans and marine wildlife.”
Bob Brown Foundation sounded the alarm immediately with then Premier, Peter Gutwein. However, even with these warnings, both the Premier and Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam rolled out the red carpet for this meat processing monolith to engage in the wholesale destruction of Tasmania’s coastlines.
“How a company with such a torrid history of bribery and corruption has been allowed to acquire the industrial salmon company Huon Aquaculture is beyond imagination,” said Alistair Allan, Bob Brown Foundation Marine Campaigner.
“From massive worker and human rights violations to the illegal deforestation of the Amazon, JBS’s record is appalling. Apparently, that is no hindrance or cause for concern to the Tasmanian government,” Mr Allan said.
“We call on Prime Minister Morrison, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and new Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff to stop permitting companies with a proven history of corruption from operating in Australia,” Mr Allan said.
“This company is ruthless and now we have them embroiled in the toxic Tasmanian salmon industry. We met with JBS before they took over Huon and they assured us they would be good stewards of the Tasmanian environment. That was impossible to believe then and that concern has been reinforced now,” Mr Allan said.
“Tasmania’s waterways are already being polluted and destroyed by toxic industrial salmon farming. At a time where all signs were pointing toward the salmon industry needing to be better regulated and scaled back, JBS, an environmental criminal, has waltzed in and intends to expand this toxic industry further,” Mr Allan said.
“In a grave error and disservice to Tasmania, its environment, wildlife and people, the Federal Investment Review Board gave JBS the tick of approval to take over over Huon Aquaculture. In a perfect example of ‘state capture,’ both the Tasmanian and federal government have unequivocally welcomed the JBS takeover of numerous Australian food companies, despite their history of bribery and corruption. These takeovers should never have happened,” said Bec Howarth, Bob Brown Foundation’s Marine & Fish Farms Campaigner.
“It is well past time that the Foreign Investment Review Board was overhauled, and that governments conduct due diligence on companies like JBS. People want governments to take action to rule out corruption,” Bec Howarth said.
ABC: From bribes to your barbecue: How Australia’s biggest meat company was built on corruption.
JOHN HAWKINS: A Tale of 3 Reports: JB Swift and the Batista Family.
DESMOG BLOG: Brazilian Meat Giant JBS a Bigger Emitter Than Italy, Study Estimates.
Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), 26 April 2022
Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) condemns JBS/Huon Aquaculture’s involvement in so-called research in Bass Strait aquaculture
Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) calls for new and much closer scrutiny of the funding model that lies behind the Tasmanian salmon industry’s plans for expansion.
This follows an excoriating report by ABC-TV Four Corners last night that highlighted the corrupt model of Brazilian multinational, JBS, new owner of Huon Aquaculture.
“As a major sponsor of Blue Economy CRC, Huon Aquaculture is funding research into expansion into the Bass Strait, already shown scientifically to be unsuitable for industrial aquaculture,” says Peter George, president of NOFF.
“As the Four Corners report highlights, JBS/Huon’s support for Blue Economy CRC’s research project makes a mockery of any claims of objectivity and independence.
“This Brazilian multinational with its history of corruption, plundering of the Amazon and appalling work practices should never have been allowed near Tasmania’s salmon industry nor the state’s vulnerable waters and marine life.
“There is now a long shadow cast over any research or plans to expand the industry into the Bass Strait as it’s clear from JBS’s antecedents that corruption is part of the multinational’s DNA.
“Blue Economy CRC must immediately remove itself from this company’s influence.
