Oil and gas company Santos has apologised to an Adelaide Aboriginal elder, who asked for his image to be removed from its corporate materials in protest at the company's treatment of Indigenous people.
Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri elder Major "Moogy" Sumner has written to Santos chairman Keith Spence saying he did not give consent for his image to be used in a promotional video played at the company's heated Annual General Meeting in Adelaide on April 6.
"It is disrespectful that you refused to listen to or answer the questions of the Gomeroi people and Tiwi Islanders who came to the Santos AGM to express concerns about mining on their Country," Mr Sumner wrote.
"I call on you to apologise to the Gomeroi people and Tiwi Islanders for the dismissive way they were treated by your company at the AGM."
Santos has apologised to Mr Sumner and said it would remove his images from its website and communications material.
In a reply to his letter, chairman Keith Spence said the footage had come from a 2021 NAIDOC Week event that Mr Sumner had participated in.
"We will honour your request going forward and will remove any images from our website and future communications materials," Mr Spence wrote.
"The 2023 AGM web page will also include a public apology to you.
"I acknowledge your views regarding fossil fuels and regret that you were upset by the interactions of Santos with Gomeroi and Tiwi Island people at the AGM.
"I listened respectfully to the views and questions of the Gomeroi and Tiwi Island people at the meeting and addressed the concerns they raised to the best of my ability."
Mr Sumner, who ran as a Senate candidate for The Greens last year, also asked for a public apology for the use of his image, saying it was "not just dishonest" but "disrespectful".
"The image of me was on there — not just once, twice," Mr Sumner told the ABC.
"There was one of me with the words 'One Future' across my face, and then there was just one of me standing there doing a smoking ceremony.
"It's bloody cheeky of anyone to think that I would be in support of anything like this."
Some traditional owners opposed to the company's Barossa gas project north of Darwin and Narrabri gas project in western New South Wales walked out of the AGM after their microphones were turned off during questions.
"Custodians of this land or any other land, right across this country and the planet should have the right to say 'no', and what part of 'no' don't people understand?" Mr Sumner said.
"There's a lot of people who've said 'no' and yet things go ahead."
Mr Spence said after the meeting that microphones were cut to comply with the limit of one question per person.
"There were a lot of questions on Gomeroi and a lot of questions on Barossa and the Tiwi Islands specifically … they had probably more opportunity to ask questions than probably anyone else in the room," he said.
"I would also like to say I'm actually grateful they were here, it's a lot of effort for them to actually make the journey. I respect their view, I respect their passion."
'I don't agree with it'
Mr Sumner said he did not attend the Santos AGM, and was not made aware it was even on, but believed his image was used to falsely suggest the company's projects had the support of him and other Aboriginal elders.
"I'm known by a lot of people across this country and different parts of the world and if they say to people, 'Moogy agrees with it' — which I don't — then other people will say, 'Well it must be alright'," he said.
"But I don't agree with it, I don't agree with anything that's digging the Earth, that's putting these mines up, digging up sites, knocking forests down or whatever they're doing, just to get fossil fuels."
Mr Sumner said he had taken his letter directly to Santos on Tuesday.
He said while the video appeared to no longer be on YouTube, Santos still had it "running in the foyer".
Mr Sumner said he himself wanted to issue an apology to people on the Tiwi Islands who had seen the video and "think I supported" the company's Barossa project.
"There's no way I would be in support of anything like that," he said.
