Mining magnate Andrew Forrest announces coal conversion deal to free 2.5m from slavery in Pakistan

Updated

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has announced a plan which he says will free 2.5 million people from slavery in Pakistan.

Mr Forrest has signed a deal with the Pakistani state of Punjab which will give it access to Australian technology which can convert lignite coal into diesel.

In return, he says Pakistan has agreed to bring in laws which will tackle the problem of slavery, or bonded labour.

The Global Slavery Index, compiled by Mr Forrest's Walk Free foundation, estimates that some 16 million people in Pakistan and India are held in slave-like bondage through debt and forced labour.

Mr Forrest announced the deal in the Swiss resort of Davos, where world leaders are meeting for the World Economic Forum.

"They [Punjab] have literally hundreds of billions of tonnes of equivalent barrel of oil energy in their lignite," he said.

"That technology we will make available - pro bono, without charge - and linking that informally, but absolutely, to their total commitment to free their people from slavery."

The concept has won praise from former British prime minister Tony Blair, who described it as a great example of Australian philanthropy.

Mr Forrest says the technology, developed by Curtin University, has the potential to be cost-effective.

"Turning lignite to diesel is proved - so we have no doubt it's going to happen," he said.

"The economic cost is the question, and that's why we're using Curtin University technology to get that cost as low as possible, so the advantage to the people of Pakistan is as high as possible."

Mr Forrest has previously invested millions of dollars in Aboriginal employment initatives in Australia and in 2012 founded Walk Free, a philanthropic charity focused on ending slavery worldwide.

He also helped to launch a global slavery index, alongside Mr Blair and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, which found that 29 million people were living in conditions of modern slavery around the world.

Topics: human, rights, law-crime-and-justice, industry, business-economics-and-finance, australia, asia, pakistan, wa

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