AMN465 Public Relations: Adani Carmichael Mine Analysis Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Adani's public relations strategies concerning the Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland. It examines the various tactics employed by Adani to address environmental concerns, manage public opinion, and secure governmental approvals. The report focuses on the application of Systems Theory to understand the interplay between different stakeholders, including government officials, environmentalists, and the general public. It also explores the use of Grunig and Hunt's historical models, specifically the public agentry model, and analyzes how Adani utilized private PR firms and legal strategies to influence public perception and build organizational reputation. The analysis covers the target audiences of Adani's responses, the reasons behind these responses, and the rationale for their implementation, offering a comprehensive overview of the company's PR approach in the context of this controversial project. The report also references the use of an aggressive legal strategy, including the hiring of private investigators, to counter negative publicity and protect the company's interests.

Running head: PUBLIC RELATION ASSESMENT
PUBLIC RELATION ASSESMENT
Name of the Student
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Tactics of the responses
Adani’s Carmichael mine project in Central Queensland has been a subject of debate for around
nine years. The main issue of the debate was the environmental impact of the coal mine project.
In an attempt to get the approval of the environmental officials and to win over the support of the
public the company has used a number of strategies.
Systems theory is a theory of interdependence between systems or subsystems. It is a framework
by which one can analyse the different systems working together towards a specific goal. The
different systems could be nature, environment and society or in terms of an organization, it
could be technical, political and economic and other factors(Whitney et al., 2015). The systems
theory was first introduced by biologist L.von Bertalanffy. In the case of Adani’s coal mining
organization the different systems at play are the governmental officials, environmentalists and
the general public.
To get the approval for the mine’s groundwater management plan from the environmentalists,
the company had to produce a dozen versions of plans to the environmental department over a
period of eighteen months ("'We're ready to start work': Adani mine passes final environmental
approval", 2019). The plans included a strategy to avoid damaging the Doongmabulla Springs
Complex. The company also had to identify and provide the source of the spring.
Adani’s organization also had to develop strategies for public relations. The law firm advocating
for the coal mine used an aggressive strategy known as “trained attack dog”. The strategy used
recommended that the opponents of the Adani firm be bankrupted by using lawsuits to influence
the government in discrediting the decision-makers. The law firm, AJ & Co, promised to be
trained attack as mentioned in the draft copy of the strategy ("Adani's new lawyers proposed

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'attack dog' plan to wage legal 'war'", 2019). The strategy also mentions hiring of private
investigators to work with the police and criminal lawyers to take appropriate action against the
protestors, who according to the law firm spread false propaganda against the Carmichael coal
mine. This kind of strategy influencesOrganizationalReputation (van Ruler, 2016) also helps
with Co-orientation (Busuioc, & Lodge, 2017) with the public by trying to minimize the spread
of false information.
The company of Adani also started public relations exercises by hiring private public relations
based firm. This would help them in communicating with the general public by influencing or
persuading in believing in their project. This is a form of one-way communication (Kriyantono,
Amrullah, & Destrity, 2017). It can be analyzed to be in synchronization with public agentry
model, one of Grunig and Hunt’s historical model of public relations
(www.adanienterprises.com, 2019). This kind of exercise also helps in building organisational
reputation.
The target audience of the responses
The responses were made to different parts of society for very different reasons. The response of
providing different versions of plans to the management of groundwater was made to the
Queensland Environmental Department ("We're ready to start work': Adani mine passes final
environmental approval", 2019). Without the approval of the environmental department the
dream of the company would never have seen the light of the day. The Doongmabulla springs,
which is one of the world’s last surviving dessert oasis, was thought to be at risk by
environmentalists and locals alike. The coal firm had to identify the source aquifer of the springs
and also have been asked to identify other potential sources, even after the approval. The plans
presented by the company ensures that any damage to the Doongmabulla springs will be avoided

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("Traditional owners vow to take their fight over Adani to The Hague", 2019). The
environmentalists and the locals have been protesting and delaying the initiation of the firm’s
project due to the concern of the environmental damage the coal mine can impact. Even after all
these efforts The Federal Environment Department still haven’t given their 100% support and
have asked the company to produce further analysis ("Adani has the green light. Will it put its
money where its mouth is?", 2019). The federal agencies have also forced the company to do
extra groundwater monitoring.
The law firm of the company, AJ & Co.’s strategy to almost go at “war” with the protestors is
targeted to the opponents of the company and also towards the general people. The protestors
have been said to have spread false and undocumented information on the effects of the company
on the environment. The law firm’s approach, even though aggressive, will help give send a
strong message to the public in general ("Adani's new lawyers proposed 'attack dog' plan to wage
legal 'war'", 2019). Since the recommended approach also mentions hiring of private
investigators who would work with the police and criminal lawyers, would be effective in
gaining trust from the public by showcasing that they have the support of the legal system
("Adani has the green light. Will it put its money where its mouth is?", 2019). This would not
only help in the building of a strong organizational reputation but also would work as a one-
way communication of public information.
The public relations exercises by private PR firms are targeted to general local public in
Queensland. The private PR agency would make sure to provide a positive brand image of the
organization to give the localities a sense of familiarity with the company
(www.adanienterprises.com, 2019). The focus on creation of new jobs and increase in
employability in the area would give the locals hope and get them excited about new prospects.

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Reasons for the responses made to them
The environmentalists and the state and federal environmental departments along with many
local citizens have been worried about the environmental impact of the setup of Coal mine in
Queensland. To add insult to the injury, reports from CSIRO and Geosciences Australia have
significantly opposed the mining (Werner et al., 2019). They have even provided scientific
evidence to support their claim that the Adani firm’s coal mining project would impact the
environment in a harsh manner and it could possibly damage the springs. This has led the
organization into providing enough evidence in its favour and management plans to convince the
state and federal agencies that they have no intention of harming the environment ("Traditional
owners vow to take their fight over Adani to The Hague", 2019). This response was made in
synchronization with the Systems theory to keep all the systems of environmentalists,
government officials and general public in favour of the company.
The protestors against the company’s setup were spreading false information about the company.
The opponents used propaganda in building a negative organizational reputation in the eyes of
the locals. If this would have been allowed to continue without any step taken by the company,
the initiation process of the company would never be successful. The law firm’s actions were a
necessity for putting a stop to false information and letting the concerned stakeholders rely upon
the company’s perspective ("Adani's new lawyers proposed 'attack dog' plan to wage legal 'war'",
2019). Also the legal support from the police would help build up a strong image.
For any organization to get the approval and interests of the locals and stakeholders, public
relation campaigns are made (www.adanienterprises.com, 2019). This helps in the growing
interests of the locals and provide familiarity with the organization. Public relation campaigns

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also help in making a positive impact on the audience, in this case the citizens residing in
Queensland.
Why was this response made to them
The management plans produced to get the approval of the environmentalists was an absolutely
necessary step. Without the approval of the state and federal environmental departments, the
project would never be able to start. It took nine years of negotiations and convincing and
alterations in the plans to have the approval of the environmentalists. The Adani firm had been a
centre of debate in the news over the years regarding the possible impact on the environment.
Environmentalists were not making the job of the Indian miner any easy. They have been
pressurizing him to produce reports of sources of aquifers for the springs ("'We're ready to start
work': Adani mine passes final environmental approval", 2019). In today’s world where climate
change is a major concern in the international sphere, any possible negative impact of the coal
mine on the ecology or environment which could possibly affect more towards climate change
needs to be scrutinized by the governmental authorities. The Adani firm realizes this importance
of having the approval of the environmental officials along with the support of the locals to be
able to initiate the mine’s operations and run it smoothly without facing issues further down in
the future. This is the reason this particular response was deemed necessary by the Adani firm.
The law firms aggressive recommendations of shutting down protestors and opponents by either
bankrupting them or taking legal actions on them was also a very strategic move towards
creating a positive image of the company. The organizational reputation was a matter of
question if the protests were allowed to be continued (Kriyantono, Amrullah, & Destrity, 2017).
If the company would have tried to make a two-way communication in a diplomatic manner,
then the organization might have been perceived to be weak or spineless. The aggressive strategy

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would help make a strong brand image ("Adani's new lawyers proposed 'attack dog' plan to wage
legal 'war'", 2019). This would also help the locals realize the support of the legal entities with
the organization and thus create a sense of trust. This response would also send a strong message
to the opponents to not take the route of spreading false information or else they could face legal
consequences.
The hiring of Public relations partners to do the campaigning on behalf of them would be
beneficial as these professionals are locals and they understand the sentiments of the locals
("Adani has the green light. Will it put its money where its mouth is?", 2019). They would be
able to design a strategic campaign to gather the emotions of the locals by appealing to them the
employability factor and creation of jobs (www.adanienterprises.com, 2019). If the coal mine
firm would have wanted to spread out information themselves without the help of professionals,
they might not have been successful in capturing the emotions of the locals.

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References
(2019). Retrieved 21 September 2019, from https://www.adanienterprises.com/businesses/mining/
Adani has a green light. Will it put its money where its mouth is?. (2019). Retrieved 21
September 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-13/adani-mine-approval-still-big-
questions-remain/11205280
Adani's new lawyers proposed 'attack dog' plan to wage legal 'war'. (2019). Retrieved 21
September 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-19/adani-law-firm-put-forward-trained-
attack-dog-strategy/10821470
Busuioc, M., & Lodge, M. (2017). Reputation and accountability relationships: Managing
accountability expectations through reputation. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 91-
100.
Kriyantono, R., Amrullah, A., & Destrity, N. (2017). The Model of Public Relations Practices in
Indonesia. Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review (GJBSSR), 5(3).
Traditional owners vow to take their fight over Adani to The Hague. (2019). Retrieved 21
September 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-01/adani-coal-mine-poses-alarming-risk-
to-sacred-wetlands/11058854
van Ruler, B. (2016). Public relations: Too little emphasis on communication. Communication
Management Review, 1(01), 6-27.
'We're ready to start work': Adani mine passes final environmental approval. (2019). Retrieved
21 September 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-13/adani-carmichael-coal-mine-
approved-water-management-galilee/11203208

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Werner, A. D., Love, A. J., Irvine, D., Banks, E. W., Cartwright, I., Webb, J., & Currell, M.
(2019). Position Paper by Concerned Scientists: Deficiencies in the scientific assessment
of the Carmichael Mine impacts to the Doongmabulla Springs.
Whitney, K., Bradley, J. M., Baugh, D. E., & Jr, C. W. C. (2015). Systems theory as a foundation
for the governance of complex systems. International Journal of System of Systems
Engineering, 6(1-2), 15-32.