Former Gas Executive Given Power to Override Environmental Protections

This picture taken on Aug. 28, 2023, shows a sign displayed at the entrance to the Darwin Port in the Northern Territory city of Darwin in Australia. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images

A former gas company executive has been appointed to a new statutory role in the Northern Territory (NT) that could give him the power to override environmental protections.

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro appointed former Inpex executive, Stuart Knowles, as interim Territory coordinator.

The proposed laws for the Territory Coordinator office allow existing legislation to be overridden if the progression of gas projects is being hindered. It also allows the Territory coordinator and chief minister to step in and take over the assessment process from other approval bodies.

The NT government holds that the new role will drive economic growth and accelerate private sector jobs.

However, environmental groups are concerned that the position will accelerate mining and gas projects without proper scrutiny.

The legislation is expected to be presented in the Northern Territory parliament by March.

“This will be the biggest piece of economic reform the territory has seen in a good decade, and it’s been very, very well ventilated and consulted on across the community,” Finocchiaro told AAP.

“In terms of the office itself, for me, it’s about signalling to the rest of this country and the world that the territory is open for business and that we’re going to have a competitive framework to do that in.”

Finocchiaro said the NT has an abundance of natural assets that can service both Australian and international markets.

“We know that gas is around 50 percent cleaner than coal, and we have a huge opportunity to underpin that transition to renewables ... it can be safely done here,” she said.

Opposition’s Concerns

Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said the NT government is not answering the public’s questions about how exemptions or step-in powers would be used.

“I think Territorians absolutely deserve to know what this legislation will mean in terms of impact, in terms of processes,” she said.

“We know and understand that the goal of this legislation is around cutting red tape, but to what effect and what impact will that have on the territory?”

Environmentalists are also concerned that the proposed laws could remove the requirement for fracking companies to obtain consent from traditional owners.

Louis Boyle-Bryant, spokesperson for advocacy group Frack Free NT, said the legislation will trample protections in place for NT residents. She said it will grant multinational fracking companies the right to destroy the environment and cultural heritage of the territory.

She was also had concerns that the draft legislation was vague and could be interpreted in ways that would fail the community and while serving big business, putting NT’s water and natural environment at risk.