US-style legal tactics used by fossil fuel giant Santos have been labelled as “worrying” and “aggressive” in the midst of the Munkara case, which continues in the Federal Court.

In 2022, the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) sued Santos on behalf of Tiwi Islanders, representing Simon Munkara, alleging its offshore Barossa gas project could risk cultural heritage and had not been adequately assessed.

In June, Santos asked the court to grant subpoenas issued to the EDO for all communications between it and the expert witnesses – and in the Federal Court this week, Justice Natalie Charlesworth ordered that the EDO pay Santos’ costs on an indemnity basis, but also that Santos’ application for the discovery of documents from the EDO continue.

This came after the Federal Court rejected claims by the EDO that Santos’ $5.8 billion gas project in the Timor Sea would damage Tiwi Islander’s Sea County and impact two creatures of their Dreaming stories.

At the time, an unnamed EDO solicitor also came under fire for “subtly coaching” Tiwi Islanders into telling their stories “in a way that propelled their traditions into the sea and into the vicinity of the pipeline”.

However, David Ritter, CEO at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said Santos’ actions during this matter are “part of a worrying US-style trend towards big polluters using litigation to silence ordinary people using the law to challenge big corporations in Australia”.

“Santos, a 23.5-billion-dollar fossil fuel giant, appears to be trying to silence the legitimate public interest of Australian people in defending our environment against pollution and damage – this should sound alarm bells for anyone who cares about our democratic rights and our magnificent country.

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“We do not want to live in a country where ordinary Australians are too afraid to go to court, to take reasonable issues up with big polluting corporations, because they are too frightened of the consequences if they lose,” he said.

“We’ve seen these SLAPP tactics play out overseas as our colleagues in the United States face a US$300 million lawsuit by fossil fuel company Energy Transfer. Ultimately, the real issue is the polluting activities of massive fossil fuel corporations, which are literally threatening the future of human civilisation. Rulings like this have a chilling effect on democracy and public interest litigation – we must stand against these silencing tactics as bad for the rights of Australians and bad for our democracy.”

Strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) lawsuits are designed to intimidate and silence those working in the public interest on matters including civil rights and the environment, added Greenpeace Australia Pacific general counsel Katrina Bullock.

“Public interest litigation plays a vital role in upholding the principles of a healthy democracy. In response to the community’s efforts, Santos has employed aggressive legal tactics seemingly intended to intimidate those opposing its actions. The company has sought internal documents from charities that voiced support for the case, potentially to pursue them for costs,” she said.

“Furthermore, it has aggressively targeted the Tiwi Islanders’ legal team, relentlessly seeking costs against them. These actions risk discouraging communities from using legal avenues to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their harmful practices.”