"Banks 'failed human rights' over Santos NT gas project", 13 July 2023

Big banks that funded a gas mega-project off the Northern Territory are just as responsible for breaching their human rights as the driller, a group of Tiwi and Larrakia traditional owners says.

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In May Santos said it categorically rejected allegations of human rights breaches and reserved its rights in the matter.

"Santos notes the claimants have not sought to have their grievances determined or remedied in a court of competent jurisdiction where Santos could properly respond," the company said in a statement.

Santos said it was engaged in lawful regulatory processes for the Barossa project, including consultation with Indigenous people and other stakeholders.

A spokesperson for CBA said the company had been able to receive concerns, complaints and grievances through a range of channels and recently launched a new formal grievance mechanism through which First Nations peoples can raise human rights concerns.

"We acknowledge the importance of First Nations communities having an ability to raise their concerns with us and have agreed to meet on-country with the Tiwi and Larrakia First Nations community members who have raised these concerns," the spokesperson told AAP.

NAB said the company considered all the issues raised through the grievance process and does not agree with the assertions made.

"Respecting human rights is a fundamental part of how we do business," a spokesperson said.

"We take the concerns raised in the human rights grievance complaint seriously and respect the views of the claimants."

ANZ provided no comment, and Westpac was yet to respond at time of publication.