Grassroots Northern Territory Labor members passed a string of motions on the weekend calling for a ban on fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and an end to gas industry subsidies, putting themselves at odds with both the territory and federal Labor governments.
The previous federal Coalition government helped speed up gas exploration in the resource-rich Beetaloo Basin, about 500km south-east of Darwin, by handing tens of millions of dollars to fracking companies to incentivise exploration.
The incentive scheme was part of its so-called “gas-led recovery”, which was pursued despite fears that exploiting the Beetaloo gas reserves would create a “carbon bomb” and scupper Australia’s chances of meeting the Paris climate targets.
The Albanese government supports the development of the basin, as does the NT government, which says Beetaloo’s resources could drive “multibillion-dollar growth in the Territory economy”.
Motions put forward during NT Labor’s conference on Saturday included calls for an “immediate ban” to fracking in the NT, a halt to exploration in the Beetaloo Basin, and an end to government subsidies supporting the gas industry.
One motion, moved by Young Labor, called for an acknowledgement that the progress of the Beetaloo project was an “indictment of the Territory Labor Party’s morals and is a direct result of capitalistic greed”.
Another motion, moved by the Casuarina branch, said that increasing emissions by developing more fossil fuel deposits, including in the Beetaloo and the Barossa offshore gas fields, was “incompatible with sustaining life as we know it in the NT, Australia and globally”.
NT Labor women moved a motion calling for the party to “oppose any further expansion or new development of any fossil fuel resources in the Northern Territory, including the Beetaloo Basin and offshore Barossa gas fields”.
Other motions called for the development of a 2030 carbon emissions reduction target and implementation plan, and urged the government to heed a recommendation of the landmark Pepper inquiry into fracking by ensuring no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions occurred.
All of the anti-fracking motions were passed with very little opposition, according to multiple sources.
“There was no dissent. There was no one who moved motions against them,” one Labor member present at the conference told the Guardian. “That means that people are really concerned about this and they want further action on climate change, they want protection of water, protection of the environment, and they’re concerned we’re not moving quickly enough at this.”
Federal Labor has described the gas-led recovery concept as a “fraud” and questioned the need for subsidies for gas infrastructure, but has maintained that gas will play an important role in Australia’s future energy mix.
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The NT government has expressly ruled out giving subsidies for fracking.
But the chief minister, Natasha Fyles, told the Guardian that the government understood the “importance of having jobs for Territorians, development in our regions and ongoing energy security as we transition to renewables”.
“We also know that protection of our natural environment is paramount,” she said. “That’s why we put in place robust regulations to protect our environment, and that is why we are implementing all 135 recommendations from the independent Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing.”
The Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator, Carmel Flint, said it was “heartening to see such strong grassroots support” in NT Labor to end subsidies for fracking in the NT.
“This confirms there’s powerful support for the Albanese government to use the upcoming budget in October to slash the wasteful gas subsidies made by Scott Morrison,” Flint said.
“It’s abundantly clear from these motions passed at the Territory Labor conference that party members see through the industry’s spin and recognise the threat fracking poses to water, communities and climate.”
The NT Labor Environment Action Network convener, Rowan Hayward, congratulated the party on “embracing a stronger commitment to environmental protection and climate action” during its conference.