Secret dealings: state-owned Queensland water company refuses to outline Adani relationship

A Queensland government-owned water corporation is holding back 96 documents detailing its business dealings with Adani, refusing to answer questions or release any information about the nature of agreements it says are commercial in confidence.

The source of the billions of litres of water Adani needs every year for its Carmichael coalmine in central Queensland has been shrouded in secrecy since its bid to pipe from the Suttor River was overturned by the federal court.

But a right-to-information (RTI) request to Sunwater dated in June this year, seen by the Guardian, reveals the government-owned corporation has had business dealings with Adani. The RTI was submitted by climate advocates The Sunrise Project and requested all correspondence between Sunwater and Adani between June 2021 and February 2022.

In response, Sunwater identified 96 separate documents captured by the scope of the request, but refused to disclose any of those documents, arguing that they were exempt from disclosure as this would breach contractual obligations of confidentiality.

Sunwater responded to questions from Guardian Australia by saying the supply of raw water to mining customers was part of its business.

The Greens MP Michael Berkman raised questions on the issues at budget estimates on Wednesday night, and referred to a separate RTI request by the Australian Conservation Foundation that found Sunwater had a contract to supply water to Adani through to 31 August 2020.

Stockton declined to answer, citing commercial-in-confidence reasons.

Asked about the source of any water that Sunwater was providing to Adani, Stockton said its customers in the Bowen Basin received it from two key sources: via pipelines from the Burdekin River and the Eungella Dam.

Berkman told Guardian Australia that the company needed to come clean about its dealings with Adani.