Beetaloo fracking approval sparks controversy

The NT Government said Tamboran Resources' Environment Management Plan had to undergo "robust and stringent assessment" by the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security with the independent NT Environment Protection Authority determining the proposed activities did not meet the threshold for an environment impact assessment, in line with legislative and regulatory requirements.

But anti-frackers and environmentalists are calling on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to scrutinise Tamboran's fracking plan under new water trigger laws, after the NT Government signed off on the project without requiring further assessment.

Parents for Climate spokesman Phil Scott said Territorians were "really worried" Minister Plibersek won't use the new water trigger powers.

"Territorians know the gas industry has enormous influence over the Lawler Government, so sadly this approval is no surprise," he said.

"Ironically, this approval was announced just before a long weekend when many Territorians are travelling to go camping, boating, fishing and swimming in the very landscapes and waterways these fracking projects could destroy."

Mr Scott said environmentalists were calling for the Federal Minister "to step up urgently" and either require the company refer it or call it in herself for full assessment under the water trigger.

"This would ensure independent expert scrutiny that is urgently needed to properly assess the full impact of this project," he said.

"Tamboran's Shenandoah project is a crucial test for Minister Plibersek and the government's new water trigger."

This is the first NT fracking project approved since national environment laws were amended in late December 2023 in Federal Parliament to extend the water trigger to shale gas fracking.

Tamboran's full Environmental Management Plan was 3,600 pages long, and was lodged just before the Christmas-New Year period, with a 28-day community consultation period.

The company said it was committed to an emissions management regime that is consistent with the NT Government's net zero by 2050 target, in line with NT and Commonwealth Government requirements through its Greenhouse Gas Abatement Plan as part of its Environment Management Plan.

Natural gas from the Beetaloo has the potential to provide work opportunities for thousands of Territorians, secure energy supplies and deliver a boost to local businesses across the Territory.

The Government said it was supporting the gas industry to grow and provide work opportunities to Territorians.

"The Territory Labor Government is backing the expansion of the Territory gas industry by investing $2 million each year in the 2024 Budget to conduct a regional monitoring program in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin," it said in a statement.

Gas extracted from the Beetaloo Sub-Basin has the potential to support 13,000 jobs by 2040 and increase the Northern Territory's economic activity by $17 billion.

Minister for Mining Mark Monaghan said Territorians would be the first to benefit from the NT's untapped resources in the Beetaloo Basin.

"The Northern Territory will be a key player in delivering natural gas to the nation and most likely the world when the Beetaloo comes online," he said.

"The Beetaloo Basin is significant for the Territory's economy ..., and will be pivotal in the world's transition to a cleaner, greener future."

But Hannah Ekin from the Central Australian Frack Free Alliance said the gas field plans were "an absolute disaster for the NT".

"The NT Government should never have approved Tamboran's Environment Management Plan because it contained incomplete information concerning its impact on water, habitat, threatened species and climate," she said.

"We believe the company has massively underestimated the project's greenhouse gas emissions and its direct impacts on the environment."

In a statement, the anti-fracking Lock the Gate Alliance said despite Tamboran's plans to drain more than one billion litres of groundwater over four years for the project, and "the clear risk it poses to the culturally and environmentally significant Lake Woods, the project has not been called in for the increased scrutiny the water trigger would provide.

"(One of) the NT Fracking Inquiry recommendations said the NT and Federal governments should ensure there's no net increase in greenhouse emissions anywhere in Australia from shale gas activities in the NT. The approval ... fails to meet this requirement."

Meanwhile, Northern Territory Minister for the Environment and and Water Security, Kate Worden, reassured Territorians that there were "stringent processes all projects must go through to ensure gas is extracted in an environmentally safe way".

"Tamboran's environment management plan has met this criteria," she said.

"We have implemented a monitoring program that will be in place along with strong environmental regulations for gas in the Beetaloo Basin."