BHP urged to open up on payments

April 28, 2010
MATHEW MURPHY
The Age (Australia)

BHP Billiton has been urged to show leadership and voluntarily disclose all payments made on a country-by-country basis to avoid allegations such as the Cambodian ''tea money'' scandal from damaging its reputation.

Non-government organisation Oxfam called for the action in the wake of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of payments BHP made to the Cambodian government, allegedly to secure bauxite leases.

Oxfam's mining advocacy co-ordinator, Serena Lillywhite, said BHP, as a supporting company to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), should honour the principles of the agreement.

The EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations that sets a global standard for transparency in oil, gas and mining operations.

''BHP has invested in the development of policies to encourage responsible business conduct including an anti-bribery standard. But the Cambodian allegations show policies alone are not enough,'' Ms Lillywhite said. ''Our view is that BHP, and indeed all Australian miners, can make a decision to voluntary disclose all payments to governments.

''I think the Cambodian incident sends a very strong message to all companies operating in high-risk countries that they do need to develop and implement robust, transparent and verifiable policies and practices, and that includes revenue transparency.''

Cambodia is yet to join the EITI.

Ms Lillywhite said the benefits of such transparency would help track payments and better indicate the benefits to mine-affected communities.

BHP has refused to disclose where the bribery took place. An investigation by British advocacy group Global Witness concluded that BHP paid $US1 million in 2006 but financial documents from that year show the payment was not recorded.

Cambodia's Minister for Water Resources, Lim Kean Hor, has told the country's National Assembly that BHP paid $US2.5 million to the government to secure a bauxite mining concession.

In a memo to staff last week, BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers stressed that working with integrity was ''critical to our success''. ''That means working in a way that upholds our values, which underpin everything we do,'' he said.