Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to raise my grievance with the government's planned investment of $1.5 billion in the Middle Arm development in the Northern Territory, previously described as a new gas centre but now conveniently described by government as a sustainable development precinct. This would have to be greenwashing at its finest. The Middle Arm precinct will be a major manufacturing centre for gas. The precinct is key to the Northern Territory's ambition to develop its massive natural gas reserves in the Beetaloo Basin and offshore.

The original plan for the site had its primary focus on the expansion of Northern Territory's gas industry, but now, conveniently, it's being sold as providing a pathway to a decarbonised economy by helping emerging clean energy industries, with petrochemicals, blue and green hydrogen and critical minerals added to its purpose. Despite this, the current plan is based on a massive expansion of the gas industry and relies on a yet-to-be-designed carbon capture and storage plant located beyond Australia's jurisdiction, in Timor-Leste's water, to control a huge increase in the country's emissions.

Both sides of politics were lobbied in advance of the 2022 federal election by significant past members of their respective parties. The Prime Minister committed to $1.5 billion in funding without any apparent current business case or independent assessment of the merit of such a large public investment during the course of the election campaign. It can only be inferred the Prime Minister was prepared to commit to such a massive sum on the basis of prior lobbying. We know this announcement had already been made by Prime Minister Morrison at the time, so it does beg the question of that level of lobbying. Serious questions arise as to conflicts of interest and disclosures of key players lobbying both sides of politics. Conflicts of interest were raised under the Morrison government and remain key under the Albanese government.

The documents revealed by the Guardian this week uncover the individuals and entities driving Australia's fossil fuel expansion. They expose a concerning reality where short-term economic gains are being prioritised over long-term environment sustainability. The key actors are people like Andrew Liveris, the architect of Scott Morrison's gas-led recovery; former Northern Territory chief minister Henderson; former Labor minister Simon Crean; and former Liberal minister Robert Hill. They are all deeply involved and have a strong, vested interest in the expansion of the gas and petrochemical industries in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory government has also committed funding to this project, with public funds committed to supporting Middle Arm now amounting to over $2 billion. That is in addition to the public funding through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, which has already flowed to the development of Beetaloo exploration projects.

It's disheartening to witness influential figures, from industry executives to politicians, downplaying the urgency of transitioning to renewable energy sources and failing to recognise the irreversible damage caused by continued reliance on fossil fuels—and gas is a fossil fuel—and the very real danger of accelerating short-term global warming by the expansion of gas and, consequentially, methane emissions. We must confront the truth behind this expansion and demand transparency and accountability from both our government and the corporate entities involved.

The business case and offsets have not been detailed by the government prior to committing such a substantial amount of public funds. Darwin's Middle Arm development is key to the expansion of a number of fossil fuel projects. The anchor tenant for Middle Arm, in documents that have been obtained under freedom of information, is Tamboran. Tamboran, as some may be aware, is the licensee holder for fracking for gas in the Beetaloo basin. We know that is a methane bomb waiting to happen, to blow all commitments in terms of emissions reduction and any chance of limiting warming out of the water. The emissions from the expansion of the associated fossil fuel projects in the Beetaloo and Barossa gas fields must be accounted for in the business case. There are no transparency or arms-length assessments that have occurred prior to these commitments of substantial amounts of public money.

This industry, gas, is a mature technology. We know it makes record profits through its export sales. The question is around its own financial commitment and viability. RepuTex estimates that to offset its emissions Beetaloo alone, over a 20-year period, would cost upwards of $22 billion. Why is it that we are putting public funds towards assisting these projects in getting up? Public funds should not be going towards these projects. Gas is a mature sector. It is making obscene profits from war. Now we also have the government offering it a sweetheart deal of seven years before any royalties are payable on a proposed PRRT, and yet here we are with the public purse proposing to pay $1.5 billion towards its key infrastructure. Do not have any doubt about this: Middle Arm is the key element to unlock the Beetaloo basin, because, without the public purse coming to build this infrastructure, Tamboran would not want to invest their own money. They would not do it.

I call on the federal government and the Northern Territory government to disclose all the lobbying and conflicts of interest declared in relation to this reckless project, and urgently disclose the business case assessment and arms-length consideration by the government prior to committing such large amounts of public funding to fossil fuels. In fact, I note that the Minister for Resources was asked in the House some weeks ago around whether Middle Arm would be for gas. She indicated that that was not the primary intention, yet the documents that came out in the freedom-of-information request show the anchor tenant is the export of gas from the Beetaloo basin for Tamboran.

It is urgent that the Middle Arm project and Beetaloo basin be considered within the context of the reformed Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, including, critically, an enhanced water trigger that would consider shale fracking and its impact in facilitating the expansion of gas exports and accelerating climate change and global warming. There are strong questions around why, for mature technology, public money is going to building infrastructure. At a time of record debt, where we do not have proper revenue for the Australian people for the resources, and where we know the vast majority of this gas will be for export to vastly profit companies but not the Australian people, why are the Australian public funding the key infrastructure?