Senate debates

Monday, 11 November 2019

Motions

Beetaloo Basin

4:08 pm

Photo of Larissa WatersLarissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 214 standing in my name for today, concerning fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, before asking that it be taken as formal. It is just to update the currency, because it was a carryover from last time.

Leave granted.

I also inform the chamber that Senator Steele-John will be co-sponsoring the motion. I, and also on behalf of Senator Steele-John, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) Origin Energy has commenced drilling as part of its Beetaloo Exploration Program in the Beetaloo Basin,

  (ii) the final report of the Independent Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing of Onshore Unconventional Reservoirs in the Northern Territory concluded that gas extraction projects in the McArthur region, including the Beetaloo Basin, could contribute more than 6% of Australia's emissions,

  (iii) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that reductions in gas production in the near term will be required to meet international reduction targets committed to in the Paris Agreement,

  (iv) approximately 90% of regional water demand in the Northern Territory is supplied by groundwater – communities and traditional owners throughout the Northern Territory continue to express concern regarding the impact of hydraulic fracturing on these critical groundwater resources,

  (v) the majority of submissions to the Northern Territory inquiry opposed fracking, and the final report noted the 'strong antipathy surrounding hydraulic fracturing for onshore shale gas',

  (vi) traditional owners have called on Origin Energy to immediately halt fracking operations in the Beetaloo Basin,

  (vii) the impact of the Beetaloo Basin project on water resources has not been assessed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and

  (viii) the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee inquiry into the Landholders' Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2015 received more than 370 submissions, the vast majority of which supported landholders and traditional owners being given the right to refuse to allow mining and fracking on their land; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

  (i) support calls by traditional owners for Origin Energy to immediately halt operations within the Beetaloo Basin,

  (ii) support the Landholders' Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2015 to ban fracking and ensure that traditional owners and landholders are empowered to refuse damaging mining and fracking activities occurring on their land, and

  (iii) expand the application of the water trigger provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to the impacts of shale gas projects on water resources.

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