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View all search resultsMontara and environmental justice
The Australian Federal Court's landmark ruling in the Montara oil spill case could set a precedent for environmental justice in Australia and Indonesia, especially in class actions that pit the "little people" against big business.
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n Australian court has granted a rare win to thousands of seaweed farmers in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) who have been affected by the 2009 oil spill at the Montara oil field in the Timor Sea, off the northern coast of Western Australia.
It was first thought to be an impossible endeavor, as history has shown that such lawsuits rarely succeeded.
In a statement received by The Jakarta Post on Sunday from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, the law firm representing the seaweed farmers at the Australian Federal Court, said the case was the first environmental class action on cross-border pollution-related damages to go to trial against an Australian company – and win.
Federal Court Justice David Yates ordered PTT Exploration and Production Australasia (PTTEP) to pay Daniel Sanda, who filed the class action representing 13,000 NTT seaweed farmers, around Rp 252 million (US$17,533) as compensation for damages and losses between 2009 and 2014 caused by the oil spill.
The court’s decision, which comes 12 years after the disaster, could set a solid precedent for other farmers who have also been demanding compensation for the damage the disaster has done to their property and lives.
Other Indonesians have not been as lucky. In class-action suits against local companies and administrations, ordinary people have rarely won.
For example, Riau residents have filed several class actions against local companies and administrations with the Indonesian courts since 2005, in relation to the forest fires and haze disasters that have become regular in the province, but to no avail. Jakarta residents have also sued the government through the years in relation to the severe flood disasters they have endured almost every year.
