PWYP gathers pace in Australia!

On 10 June 2011 a wide range of civil society organisations gathered in Melbourne for a PWYP information and strategy development workshop. Hosted by long time PWYP member Oxfam Australia, sessions included an introduction to PWYP, examination of national coalition case studies and a strategy brainstorm for the future of the campaign in Australia. The day closed with a real sense of momentum in the quest for greater openness in the oil and mining sector in Australia.

Currently, the campaign in Australia is developing across two very exciting fronts. Firstly, the government is expected to announce the launch of an EITI pilot in October. Indeed, Australia is already a supporting country to EITI and recently became one of its biggest donors. Australia, together with Canada, is in the fairly specific situation of being a country that is home to many large extractive companies, as well as being rich in its own natural resources. Implementing EITI would therefore have strong benefits for Australia itself and the addition of an OECD member would help make EITI a truly global initiative. Secondly, PWYP Australia is working to introduce financial reporting requirements – similar to Dodd-Frank – for extractive industries listed on the country’s stock exchange.

PWYP is very excited about these developments and we’ll be keeping you updated!

Visit Australia’s page