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Trump owes his victory to America's shale revolution. Now beware hubris
Trump owes his victory to America's shale revolution. Now beware hubris

Telegraph

time24-06-2025

  • Business
  • Telegraph

Trump owes his victory to America's shale revolution. Now beware hubris

For the second time in three years the world is learning how much the global balance of strategic power has been transformed by US energy independence and the magic of fracking technology. The US could not have risked a showdown with Iran and an oil crisis in the Gulf at the nadir of its fortunes in 2008, a time when America was fast becoming an energy-import basket case and planners at the US energy department were having nightmares over security of supply. America's shale frackers have been adding a new North Sea every three years. The Permian basin in Texas today produces more oil than Saudi Arabia's giant Ghawar field. The US became a net exporter of energy in 2020 and is now by far the largest combined producer of oil, petroleum products, and natural gas. Imagine what would have happened to Europe after Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine had there not been 'molecules of freedom' from the great American shale basins, rushed across the Atlantic in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Europe would have faced an invidious choice: either to endure extreme gas rationing, a winter freeze and an existential industrial crisis; or to capitulate and feed the monster of Russian revanchist imperialism. The appeasers would have prevailed. Putin would have got his way. Europe would have been on the path to Finlandisation. Dozens of fence-sitting states would be gravitating further towards the authoritarian proto-confederacy of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Instead, Russia has lost a million men for little gain beyond what it seized weeks into the war. Donald Trump's assault on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities has given us another lesson on the new realities of fossil import geography. The US Energy Information Agency says 84pc of all Gulf oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Asia, principally to China, Japan, Korea and India. Much of Qatar's LNG also goes east. US purchases from the region were down to 2pc of total US consumption of petroleum products last year, and most of that was opportunistic buying of Arabian high-sulphur crude to balance refineries. The US chiefly imports its heavy oil these days via pipelines from Canada's Alberta tar sands. Cast your mind back to early 2008, when US crude production had collapsed to 4.8m barrels a day and the country had to import two thirds of its oil – pushing the current account deficit to 6pc of GDP. The country was on track to become the world's largest importer of LNG. The US dollar index was at an all-time low and every scribe was writing the obituary of the American Century. We forget now but the idea of electric vehicles was then being pushed by neo-con strategic hawks. Jim Woolsey, a former head of the CIA, told me at the time that America needed a breakneck plan for the electrification of transport as an urgent matter of national security. Had Washington bombed Iran in those circumstances, the oil, currency and equity markets would have seized up and America would have spiralled into an economic crisis. Instead we had the astonishing spectacle this week of tumbling oil prices and Wall Street euphoria after the fateful strike. Investors seem to be pricing in total Iranian capitulation. It is a disaster for Putin. His hopes of an economic bailout from surging oil prices have been dashed, leaving him unable to both prosecute his war and to buy off Russians with welfare spending at the same time. His ally and chief supplier of drones has been crushed and forced to swallow the bitter pill. It is 50:50 whether the clerical regime survives at all. Putin has to contemplate the serious possibility of a pro-Western government in Tehran that actively turns against him. He has lost his longstanding regional client in Syria, with knock-on damage for Russian credibility through the Sahel. Russia is no longer a Middle Eastern power of much consequence. It is a setback for China too. Xi Jinping has had to watch impotent from the sidelines as his Iranian confederate and semi-ally is broken on the wheel, and the Middle East is reordered to the taste of Israel and the US. One can applaud the outcome without applauding the method. The US attacked Iran without cover under international law or even any attempt to secure a fig-leaf mandate. It is the world of the Melian Dialogue, where the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. I hesitate to call this moment a triumph of the West because it was achieved by means that betray the West. It is undoubtedly a stunning political victory for Trump – and that too will have a long chain of consequences, making it easier for him to continue dismantling the institutional foundations of US democracy. Woe betide his domestic foes from now on. Paradoxically, America's bunker-busting strike on the Fordow site lowered the risk of an oil crisis, although we still do not know what happened to 400kg of enriched uranium, or whether Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has really given up his goal of regime change. The immediate consequence is that Israel no longer needs to destroy the Iranian oil export facilities at Kharg Island and wage a war of economic attrition to stop Iran's uranium enrichment. Trump has done it a cleaner way. The markets shrugged off calls by the Iranian parliament to shut the Strait of Hormuz and cut off 20pc of the world's oil and LNG supply, dismissing the vote as a pro forma and ritual exhortation. It would be a very blunt way to strike back at America. Yes, partial obstruction of the Strait would hit America too, through the oil futures markets and multiple macroeconomic channels. But it would create infinitely more trouble for China, the world's biggest importer of both oil and LNG. It would shatter Iran's tentative rapprochement with Saudi Arabia. It would be economic self-strangulation for the clerical regime itself. If a cut-off was sustained for more than a few weeks, Trump could and would ban US oil exports to trap America's abundant output within the US domestic economy, as president Gerald Ford did in 1975. This would split the global market and make it even clearer that the US remains the world's only full-spectrum hyperpower. Trump did not have to make America great again. Wildcat frackers had already made it great again for him with 4D seismic imaging, AI, smart drills and all the hi-tech tools of the shale industry, literally turning worthless rock into strategic gold. Hubris is now the danger. The strategic value of America's oil and gas resurgence has peaked and will henceforth roll over. Doubling down on fossils at this historical juncture is a trap. We are moving into a different energy era where the long-term prize will go to the masters of electro-tech, a more competitive way to organise an energy system once you get over the investment hump. China is running away with this electric future. Joe Biden recognised this with his Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a China policy dressed up as a green agenda. Trump is not only gutting the IRA but also going to great lengths to obstruct the free market itself from judging what energy technology makes most commercial sense. This is to surrender 21st-century energy dominance to rivals. America risks ending as sort of giant Cuba, driving around in archaic cars with tailpipes and smog long after the rest of the world has moved on to something much better. Victory always has a sting in the tail.

Iran hits US base, leaked files reveal fracking influence claims, call for teenage YouTube ban
Iran hits US base, leaked files reveal fracking influence claims, call for teenage YouTube ban

The Guardian

time23-06-2025

  • Business
  • The Guardian

Iran hits US base, leaked files reveal fracking influence claims, call for teenage YouTube ban

Morning everyone. Iran has launched missile strikes on US bases in Qatar overnight with Donald Trump reportedly in the White House situation room to monitor events, as what the French government called the Middle East's 'spiral of chaos' continued to worsen. We have reports, live developments and analysis. Also today we reveal serious concerns about the consulting activities of an obscure firm that is helping fracking companies influence traditional owners in the Northern Territory. Leaked documents reveal claims the firm promised private deals, gathered signatures and hired land council members to smooth the way for gas sales. And should under-16s also be banned from watching YouTube? Pumped up | Petrol prices could rise to $2 a litre after US military strikes on Iran, some analysts have warned. Any Australian assistance in US airstrikes on Iran could make Australia a target for retaliation, nuclear experts say, as ministers decline to comment on the potential involvement of the secretive US-Australian surveillance base at Pine Gap in Sunday's bombardment. Caravan case | The president of the New South Wales upper house has sought legal advice over whether he can seek arrest warrants for government staffers who failed to give evidence to an inquiry examining the Sydney caravan 'fake terrorism plot', Guardian Australia understands. YouTube ban | YouTube should be included in the ban on under-16s accessing social media, the nation's online safety chief has said as she urges the Albanese government to rethink its decision to exclude the platform from the new rules. 'No austerity' | The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has promised no austerity in his first budget, despite the state facing a forecast $218bn in debt. He says his government can 'respect people's money' and still lift public services. Super claim | A major superannuation fund is under fire for substantially increasing its investment in the coal company Whitehaven while still claiming to be committed to reaching net zero emissions. Iran retaliation | Iran has launched short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles at the US Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, officials from both sides have said. Tehran said the attacks were 'mighty and successful' but US officials said the retaliation for Sunday's blitz on Iran's nuclear installations was 'symbolic' and communicated in advance. In the UK, where there were protests against the US action (pictured), the government warned Iran that closing the oil tanker route through the strait of Hormuz would be an act of 'self-harm'. Our diplomatic editor considers why Iran's nuclear program is so important to the oil-rich nation, while airlines are paying the price for disruption. Follow developments in the Middle East here, while we also have live updates from Washington. Up in smoke | Aggressively marketed vapes threaten to undo progress made on smoking control, according to the World Health Organization. Moon shot | A giant asteroid could smash into the moon in 2032, sending debris hurtling towards Earth, researchers have said. Abortion rise | Three years after the US supreme court erased the national right to abortion, the number of abortions performed in the US is still on the rise – including in some states that ban the procedure. Self-kelp groups | Killer whales have been observed grooming each other with kelp, the first known instance of a marine animal using tools in a way that was previously thought to be the preserve of primates such as humans. US strikes Iran: the breakdown of the rules-based order Prof Ben Saul, the Challis chair of international law at the University of Sydney, tells Nour Haydar why he thinks the weekend's events signal the breakdown of the rules-based order. Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ In August last year, a curious letter and four-and-a-half pages of signatures from traditional owners arrived at the Darwin office of the head of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. The letter is part of a major leak of documents from the Northern Land Council that reveals serious concerns among traditional owners and bureaucrats about the consulting activities of a company called Good Advice on behalf of the gas company Empire Energy. A new Guardian Australia investigation, launched today, reveals claims that the consulting firm allegedly promised private deals and unrealistic royalties to traditional owners, gathered signatures and hired members of the land council in its efforts to smooth the way for its client's gas sales in the Northern Territory. Empire Energy said the company had 'a long history of respectful engagement with traditional owners'. In this week's 10 Chaotic Questions feature, the Ghostbusters and Blues Brothers star Dan Aykroyd tells Sian Cain about living in a haunted house, jamming with a president, and kissing Jamie Lee Curtis. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Rugby union | British and Irish Lions managers have reminded Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies head coach, to make his national players available for their Super Rugby clubs in games against the tourists. Cricket | Centuries from India's KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant set England 371 to win the first Test at Headingley, with the hosts 21-0 in their second innings at the close of play on day four. Tennis | Emma Raducanu says her upcoming Wimbledon mixed doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz is a reflection of the friendly connection the pair made as they were rising up the rankings at the start of their careers. There has been a 10-fold increase to relief and recovery payments in NSW's budget since the deadly black summer bushfires, the Sydney Morning Herald says. Bans forcing homeowners to replace broken-down gas heaters and hot-water units with electric versions will not go ahead in Victoria, the Age reports. The Australian War Memorial has won a national award for its design, Canberra Times says. Politics | Lockups ahead of budgets in NSW, Queensland and ACT. Canberra | eSafety's Julie Inman Grant addresses the National Press Club. Middle East | The National Union of Students will hold a press conference in Canberra to demand Labor retract its support for the US bombing of Iran. Enjoying the Morning Mail? Then you'll love our Afternoon Update newsletter. Sign up here to finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day's main news, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email

The consulting firm allegedly offering private deals and collecting signatures to smooth way for Empire Energy gas sales
The consulting firm allegedly offering private deals and collecting signatures to smooth way for Empire Energy gas sales

The Guardian

time23-06-2025

  • General
  • The Guardian

The consulting firm allegedly offering private deals and collecting signatures to smooth way for Empire Energy gas sales

In late August 2024, a curious letter arrived at the Darwin office of Benedict Scambary, chief executive of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA). The correspondence was typed and written in corporate style but it was attached to four and a half pages of handwritten names and signatures of traditional land owners from across the Northern Territory's Top End. A name that Scambary recognised was written on the back of the envelope – William John, a Mudburra Jingili man. As the head of the NT agency responsible for protecting Aboriginal sacred sites, Scambary was familiar with many of the signatories' names. But what was unusual was the contents of the letter – it contradicted earlier advice AAPA had been given from several of the signatories regarding the protection of their cultural heritage. The letter asked Scambary to explain why AAPA had stopped processing an application by the gas company Empire Energy for an authority certificate it needed at the site of its Carpentaria pilot project, a fracking operation near Cape Crawford in the Beetaloo basin. Authority certificates set conditions for developers working on or near sacred sites in the NT and are mandatory before fracking projects can progress. Empire Energy's application for the Carpentaria project had been delayed after heritage concerns were raised by traditional owners. But the letter, which was leaked to Guardian Australia as part of a trove of documents from the Northern Land Council, asked Scambary to progress Empire Energy's certificate 'as soon as possible'. When the Guardian approached Scambary he said that after receiving the letter, AAPA staff felt it was necessary to contact the relevant traditional owners and custodians again, to clarify their positions. He said it emerged from those discussions that most of the signatures had been gathered at two meetings held in August by Empire Energy and a consulting firm called Good Advice. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email But when AAPA officials read the letter to some of the people whose names were attached to it, the traditional owners did not agree with its contents. 'The custodians were not aware of what they had signed, and were alarmed by the letter's denial of their concerns about cultural heritage,' Scambary said. The traditional owners AAPA spoke to did not deny they had signed the sheet of paper but they gave differing accounts of what they thought they were signing. According to the leaked material, one thought he was merely signing an attendance sheet. The purported sender of the letter, whose name appeared on the back of the envelope, also insists he did not send it. When the Guardian contacted John, he said: 'It wasn't [sent] by me.' On 15 August 2024, at an outback pub on the Carpentaria Highway called the Heartbreak Hotel, a meeting was held between traditional owners and Empire Energy. The gathering at the remote pit stop, where travellers share a drink on their long journeys across the Top End, had been organised by Good Advice – a consulting firm hired by the gas company to help navigate relationships with traditional owners and other stakeholders. Several of the attendees had arrived on a bus that it's understood was facilitated by the firm's sole director, Greg McDonald. Two days earlier, McDonald had held a similar meeting on Empire's behalf with a different group of traditional owners 400km away in the pastoral town of Mataranka, known for its thermal pools. Accounts of exactly what happened at the meetings differ but there are several common threads. A major leak of Northern Land Council files, correspondence and recordings to Guardian Australia contains claims that traditional owners were offered financial benefits if they agreed to let Empire Energy sell 'appraisal gas' – which is gas collected during the exploration phase – from its Carpentaria pilot project in the Beetaloo basin. The leaked files reveal serious concerns among traditional owners and bureaucrats about the lobbying activities of Empire Energy, Good Advice and several members of the NLC's full council, who were employed as advisers by the consulting firm. According to claims made in the leaked material, the meetings ran an agenda favourable to Empire Energy's aims and presented unrealistic promises of large royalties and other benefits. Traditional owners were allegedly told payments could be agreed privately with the gas company, outside the usual land rights process overseen by the land council. Some traditional owners said they recalled signing a document – which would later be attached to the letter to AAPA – but one claimed he 'thought he was signing up for the money' that was allegedly promised, according to the documents, and another said he thought he was signing up to join an organisation. The documents include claims that some of the attendees were confused about the meetings and their purpose. It's understood some were confused in part because they recognised McDonald from his previous position at the NLC, where he worked until 2023. Consultation meetings between traditional owners and gas companies are part of the usual process before fracking projects in the Top End can progress. But official consultations are facilitated by the NLC – the federal agency that oversees gas exploration on land covered by the land rights and native title acts – not by independent consulting firms. With McDonald at the Heartbreak Hotel were executives from the gas company but also – according to traditional owner accounts – at least two current members of the NLC's full council, which is the main decision making body for the agency. Adding to the confusion was the timing of the meetings, which was shortly before actual formal land council consultation sessions about the potential sale of exploration gas from Empire's Carpentaria pilot project were due to start in late August. Sources not authorised to speak publicly told the Guardian that many of the attendees claim they did not know that Good Advice and McDonald had been hired by Empire Energy. Three weeks after the meetings, chair of the NLC, Matthew Ryan, wrote to the managing director of the gas company to say traditional owners had raised concerns that it might be trying to 'circumvent processes under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act using consultants associated with Good Advice or Mr McDonald'. In a letter seen by the Guardian, Ryan wrote that the 'common themes' raised with the NLC included claims Good Advice was facilitating meetings for Empire Energy with individuals who 'may or may not be council members of the Land Council' present and 'attempting to pass off the meetings as Land Council meetings'. He said traditional owners had claimed that Empire, via Good Advice, was 'facilitating payments or promising payments' to them outside the agreements negotiated with the NLC through the land rights process. McDonald worked for the NLC for just over a decade from 2012, according to federal Senate records. In the years leading up to his departure on 24 March 2023, he was the manager of the resources and energy branch, which oversees the land council's duties and functions as they relate to the resources and energy sector. On 12 April 2023 he registered the company Good Advice Pty Ltd. The company has no website. McDonald's sparse LinkedIn profile says he is the managing director with skills in 'bespoke solutions'. He did not respond to the Guardian's questions. But it is apparent from public records that Good Advice's services involve helping gas companies navigate their relationships with traditional owners in the Top End, people with whom McDonald had formed relationships while at the land council. It's not uncommon for bureaucrats to move from public service into private consulting roles. To assist with his work, McDonald has recruited several members of the NLC's full council, which is made up of 83 Aboriginal councillors from the Top End. In a response submitted to a government consultation, obtained by the Guardian under freedom of information laws, McDonald described Good Advice as a supplier to the offshore resources industry that was founded 'with a vision to facilitate and assist First Nations persons to engage with the private and public sectors in a culturally appropriate manner' and to 'support the informed consultation and participation of First Nations in relation to proposed industrial developments and policy development'. McDonald wrote that Good Advice used the services of 'consultant cultural advisors' who were a 'dynamic team of experienced persons, from elected representatives to ceremonial leaders'. The NLC councillors who are identified in the leaked documents as allegedly working for Good Advice did not respond to questions from the Guardian. The NLC's chief executive Yuseph Deen said councillors were considered 'part-time public officials' who often wore many hats and 'are entitled to engage in outside employment opportunities in an individual capacity'. He said the land council 'provides regular governance training for council members, to ensure that members are aware of their duty to declare and manage conflicts of interest appropriately'. 'When council members are engaged in an individual capacity, they are not authorised to speak for, or on behalf of, the NLC.' In the days leading up to the Heartbreak Hotel meeting, McDonald and three NLC councillors were seen 'going around town and the town camps' approaching people, according to claims made in a consultant's report that was part of the leaked documents. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion One traditional owner claims in the report that the NLC councillors canvassing people in community were wearing their NLC shirts: 'They came here telling people about fracking being OK, they were wearing NLC shirts,' he is quoted as saying. William John, the traditional owner whose name was on the envelope of the letter sent to AAPA, told the Guardian that before he attended the meeting in Mataranka he had also been visited during a stay in Darwin by McDonald and three NLC councillors. 'They didn't give me any advice. What they want me to do: accept getting gas out of my land. But I didn't want to do that,' he claimed. 'They said anything I want they would do: paying me money; getting me [a] vehicle to go visit my land, fuel, money, whatever. 'They talked about the gas, getting the money out of the gas. 'I'd like someone to help stop what they're doing.' The independent senator Lidia Thorpe has asked questions in parliament over the past year about the relationship between Good Advice, the gas industry and some NLC councillors and whether there were potential conflicts of interest in those relationships. In answers to questions on notice from Thorpe, the NLC has said five of its councillors have declared conflicts with Good Advice, with four in paid roles. At Senate estimates in November, the NLC was asked follow-up questions by Thorpe and said it had now introduced a conflict of interest register for members. 'Conflicts of interest are part of governance, but we are talking about people being paid what are likely very large sums of money by gas companies,' Thorpe said at the hearing. 'These people were on a statutory body that is supposed to be representing traditional owners in negotiations with gas companies. 'So, you've got someone being paid by a gas company but then they're also in there negotiating with the gas company about destroying country by fracking it. 'How can the community be confident that conflicts of interest are being managed if some of our mob are being paid by the very companies that are destroying our land, and then these fullas are going in there negotiating with the same companies?' The NLC responded: 'As a management action, all five NLC council members agreed to leave the room during any discussions or decisions regarding their conflicts.' Thorpe told the Guardian: 'If you're on the land council then you should be looking after the people you represent. And you need to be ensuring you have permission to make certain decisions that affect country or water or people.' When it came time for the land council to hold its official consultation sessions about Empire's proposal to sell appraisal gas in late August, traditional owners, including a Wuyaliya man, Asman Rory, raised their concerns with the company about the AAPA letter and the meetings at Mataranka and the Heartbreak Hotel. At one of those consultation sessions, in the remote community of Borroloola, Rory said to the company's managing director Alex Underwood: 'Greg McDonald got signatures of land trust members on a letter pushing your way forward … it's a very wrong way.' Underwood allegedly responded: '[That is] simply a document from a range of people for whom we are simply seeking to get [the] AAPA process going again.' He said the company had 'been transparent' and that it worked with Good Advice because 'we are simply trying to re-establish relationships'. Rory, who is a cultural lawman for his country, told the Guardian he had not attended the Heartbreak Hotel meeting but he and his partner had been visited at home by McDonald and some NLC councillors. On the day of the meeting he said he was concerned when he was at the local shops and saw some of his family members being guided on to a bus by McDonald. 'I pulled into the shop when he was loading everybody on and I said, 'What's going on here, mate?'' he said. Rory said McDonald explained they were going to Heartbreak Hotel to meet Empire Energy to discuss the gas proposal. 'And I said it's no good for you to do this. You're taking that responsibility away from me.' At the consultation session, it's understood a senior NLC executive told Empire: 'We have been getting questions about whether there were NLC meetings last week. People are finding this confusing and I am finding this confusing.' The land council's chair then wrote to Underwood on 4 September. In that letter, Ryan asked the gas company for an explanation of the nature of its engagement of Good Advice and for detail about individuals Good Advice or McDonald had engaged as consultants. In a reply on 5 September, Empire's managing director Underwood said that he and members of his management team had been told by traditional owners and other stakeholders that 'environmental activist groups have been actively engaging with them' to prevent the development of the Carpentaria project and 'spreading serious misinformation'. He said the company had hired Good Advice on a short term contract on 24 July to 'ensure that all relevant stakeholders are receiving accurate information'. He said the company had notified the land council it had intended to engage the consulting firm and its role was to identify and engage with traditional owners and other stakeholders, manage relations and facilitate the company's engagement with government agencies. He rejected each of the allegations put to him by Ryan and said the company was not seeking to circumvent the Land Rights Act and had not engaged in private negotiations with traditional owners via Good Advice. He said that at the meetings he was present at, and to the best of his knowledge at all other meetings, traditional owners had been told the purpose was for information and discussion only, no negotiations were to take place at those meetings and they were not official land council meetings. He said neither the company nor Good Advice had attempted to pass the meetings off as official land council meetings and had 'never either directly or via Good Advice or Mr McDonald, facilitated or promised to make payments to Traditional Owners outside of the agreements negotiated with the NLC'. He said the company took its obligations under the Land Rights act seriously and its activities with Good Advice were 'an attempt to build our relationships with traditional owners and other stakeholders'. 'I and my team did not seek to cause offence, and if there is any I apologise.' Empire Energy's spokesperson told the Guardian that the company had 'a long history of respectful engagement with Traditional Owners over the last decade'. He said it had held more than 30 on-country meetings and continued to consult traditional owners about current and future works. Guardian Australia sent detailed questions to McDonald via email and post, to give him the opportunity to respond to the claims made about Good Advice's consulting work. He declined to respond. The NLC's Yuseph Deen told the Guardian the land council had a legislated responsibility to ensure traditional owners had the opportunity 'to give their free, prior, and informed consent to a [development] proposal; or to exercise their rights to say no'. 'Proponents who come on to Country, wanting to do business with Aboriginal people, are expected to act ethically and responsibly at all times,' he said. Speaking generally without reference to Empire, Good Advice or McDonald, Scambary said the NT had seen 'an increase in land users attempting to sidestep the work of [AAPA] and privately negotiate with Aboriginal custodians'. 'Whilst the Authority welcomes strong relationships between land users and the custodians of that land, these actions are very concerning,' he said. 'Private consultation, where conflicting and sometimes undisclosed commercial interests are at play, creates confusion and division within communities. It erodes confidence in sacred site protection and undermines certainty for developers, the public and custodians of sacred sites.' Scambary said AAPA existed to 'ensure that Aboriginal sacred sites are protected and that development occurs responsibly, transparently and lawfully'. 'Bypassing the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority not only endangers sacred sites, it puts projects and reputations at risk.' Do you know more? Email

Landmark legal challenge against 'risky' fracking
Landmark legal challenge against 'risky' fracking

Yahoo

time23-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Landmark legal challenge against 'risky' fracking

An environmental group "very concerned" about the impact of fracking on water has launched the first test of recently expanded national laws. A plan to frack 15 gas wells in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin is being challenged by Lock The Gate Alliance in the Federal Court on Monday. The group is asking the court to grant an injunction and to compel the federal government to assess the project under the water trigger provisions of federal environmental laws. Lock The Gate Alliance research and investigations head Georgina Woods said their legal challenge was significant because work is already underway on the Shenandoah fracking pilot. "We are very concerned about the potential of the project to significantly impact groundwater resources through contamination," she said. "The whole of the Northern Territory relies on groundwater. Water is life up there." Fracking involves injecting a combination of water, chemicals and sand into deep shale layers underground at high pressure to extract gas. "It is an inherently risky activity and does carry the risk of contamination of groundwater sources and that's why we've taken this case," Ms Woods said. The federal water trigger legislation was expanded by federal parliament in 2023 to require the assessment of the impact of large coal mining and coal seam gas projects on water resources. However, the natural gas company defending the court challenge on Monday - Tamboran B2 - has not referred itself to the national regulator and the government hasn't selected the project for consideration. Parent company Tamboran is the largest acreage holder and operator in the Beetaloo basin, with about 770,000 net prospective hectares. Anti-fossil fuel activists gathered outside the courthouse in Sydney on Monday morning to show their support for Lock the Gate, holding signs declaring "No water, no life" and "Cry me a river". The Federal Court case will be the first legal challenge launched against fracking under the water trigger and is expected to run for several days.

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