Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Environment Centre NT Co-Director Kirsty Howey says Origin Energy's exit from the Beetaloo Basin creates a lot of uncertainty over its future

Transcript

Environment Centre NT Co-Director Kirsty Howey says Origin Energy's exit from the Beetaloo Basin creates a lot of uncertainty over its future · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But as we know, yesterday the power and gas giant
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  Speaker 1: Origin Energy is set to sell one hundred percent of
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  Speaker 1: its steak in the Betleloo Basin. Now they announced that
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  Speaker 1: they're shifting their focus to greener energy and they will
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  Speaker 1: lose apparently or reportedly between seventy to ninety million dollars
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  Speaker 1: after taxes, So the seventy seven and a half percentage
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  Speaker 1: steak will be picked up by Tamboran Resources. Now joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line to tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more about their reaction to this announcement is Kirsty Howie,
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  Speaker 1: who is indeed from the Environment Center here in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory. Good morning to you, Kirsty.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and height all your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Kirsty, what was your reaction to this announcement yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's absolutely huge news and I was somewhat surprised,
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  Speaker 2: as I think a lot of Territorians were, because it's
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  Speaker 2: really bad news for the viability of cracking. The Betloo
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  Speaker 2: Basin is the biggest player in the Beatloo Basin. It's
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  Speaker 2: been there for a long time and it's really been
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  Speaker 2: the anchor that holds, you know, the viability of the
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  Speaker 2: Beatloo Basin together, and so to have Origin suddenly selling
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  Speaker 2: out at this stage just before where apparently according to
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  Speaker 2: the territory government moving to production, is a huge sign
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  Speaker 2: that things are not well with cracking the Betaloo basin,
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  Speaker 2: and indeed, we would say it's probably the beginning of
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  Speaker 2: the end of cracking in the Betaloo basin.
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  Speaker 1: So you reckon that this is going to mean that
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  Speaker 1: you know that the other businesses or the other interests
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  Speaker 1: set are there in the Bedloo right now could indeed
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  Speaker 1: pull out.
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  Speaker 2: I think that it's very difficult to make the case
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  Speaker 2: that this industry's viable without Origin. We've got some other
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  Speaker 2: players still there. One of them is quite large, that Santos,
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  Speaker 2: but there's some other smaller companies Timboran included, who are
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  Speaker 2: operating there now. They're just not capitalized to the same extent.
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  Speaker 2: They don't have the money and the investment to existing
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  Speaker 2: there to be able to proceed full steam ahead with
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  Speaker 2: this industry. And so we think that there's real questions
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  Speaker 2: about whether this industry is going to move ahead at all,
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  Speaker 2: and whether these companies, Imperial, timbor and amongst them, are
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  Speaker 2: going to be packing their bags and getting out of
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  Speaker 2: the be Toloo as well, and we know that this
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  Speaker 2: is a shift that's happening worldwide. Fossil fuel extraction is
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  Speaker 2: on the way out and it's new industries that are
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  Speaker 2: coming in.
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  Speaker 1: I know that it has indeed been a port of
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  Speaker 1: contention for quite some time in terms of fracking, whether
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  Speaker 1: it was going to go ahead or exactly how will
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  Speaker 1: go ahead in the Beterloo basin. There are obviously environmental concerns.
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  Speaker 1: There will be some listening this morning though as well,
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  Speaker 1: who are thinking, well, if we aren't going to be
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  Speaker 1: fracking some of that gas from the be Toloo, what
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  Speaker 1: doesn't mean for Australia and the Northern territories energy supplies?
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  Speaker 2: Oh well, look, I think the Northern Territories and energy
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  Speaker 2: supplies are well and truly secured. We know that there's
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  Speaker 2: an agreement between E and I and the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: government supplying the territory's energy, and frankly, the claims about
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  Speaker 2: the be Toloo basin gas going to the East Coast
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  Speaker 2: are grossly exaggerated. We know that Beelou gas is actually
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  Speaker 2: going to come to Darwin and be exported or turned
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  Speaker 2: into petrochemicals manufacturing in Darwin Harbor. That's what the plan
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  Speaker 2: for Beteloo Gas is. It's got nothing to do with
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  Speaker 2: the East Coast market. So I don't think people have
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  Speaker 2: anything to fear with respect to energy security in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory or indeed across Australia. Both claims are vastly overinflated.
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  Speaker 1: Now, last time you and I spoke, we were speaking
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  Speaker 1: about the development there at Middle Arm, or the proposed
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  Speaker 1: development at middle Arm. I know last week we spoke
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  Speaker 1: on the show to the Minister Evil lawl about that
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  Speaker 1: development and what she said is a consultation process which
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  Speaker 1: has indeed now started. What do you think this announcement
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  Speaker 1: yesterday means when you talk about the development of Middle Arm.
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  Speaker 2: Look, it's got huge consequences for Middle Arm. Five minute
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  Speaker 2: consequences the Middle Arm because that development and the Government
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  Speaker 2: doesn't like to say this very much. As I pointed
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  Speaker 2: out on your show previously, it's about gas and it's
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  Speaker 2: about creating and manufacturing petrochemicals using fract gas from the
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  Speaker 2: Beata Loo basin. It's about finding another market for that
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  Speaker 2: Beata Loo gas. And we know that the health impacts
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  Speaker 2: of these kinds of facilities elsewhere can be very harmful.
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  Speaker 2: So the fact that the Bedloo is now looking extremely shaky,
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  Speaker 2: shakier than it ever has been, means that the full
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  Speaker 2: support of this middle Arm development by the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: government is beginning to look very very foolish. Indeed, not
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  Speaker 2: only is it going to cause potential health impact to
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  Speaker 2: people living in Palmerston and Darwin because this is heavy,
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  Speaker 2: heavy industry, but there may not be an economic case
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  Speaker 2: for it at all. And I will mention as well
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  Speaker 2: that of course the federal government has promised two billion
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  Speaker 2: dollars for this a tax payer money for this particular development,
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  Speaker 2: and you've really got a question how sensible that decision
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  Speaker 2: is if the bea Toloo isn't going to get up
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  Speaker 2: and running. So it's a house of cards, Katie. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's starting to fall apart.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and it's like, I think it's such you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's so interesting no matter where you you know, like
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  Speaker 1: what your beliefs are when it comes to gas or
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  Speaker 1: where you sort of stand. And I guess the other
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  Speaker 1: really interesting aspect of this is when you look at
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  Speaker 1: the fact that just you know, just a couple of
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  Speaker 1: years ago, or probably eighteen months ago, the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: government of course had their TERCI Report or the Report,
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  Speaker 1: which did look at diversifying the Northern Territory's economy we
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  Speaker 1: as we move forward, and a huge part of that
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  Speaker 1: was indeed gas and the gas industry. I mean, where
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  Speaker 1: do you think that sort of lands us? Do you
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  Speaker 1: think that when we look at things like renewables that
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  Speaker 1: we're going to be able to still diversify the economy
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  Speaker 1: in the same way.
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  Speaker 2: So look, I've been happened to hear the Chief Minister
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  Speaker 2: frankly distancing herself from the gas industry in recent comments
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  Speaker 2: to the media and emphasizing the importance of renewable for
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. And I think that's the right way
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  Speaker 2: to go. But absolutely, Katie, the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission
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  Speaker 2: had a huge focus on gas. It was our own
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  Speaker 2: sort of mini gas Vibe recovery with Andrew Liverius at
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  Speaker 2: the Helm. And Andrew Liveris of course recommended this petrochemical
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  Speaker 2: facility in Middle Arm and the opening up of the
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  Speaker 2: Beatloo Basin. And that's beginning to look extremely outdated and
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  Speaker 2: a really bad economic choice and direction for the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: So there's a lot of questions about that report and
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  Speaker 2: whether it should really just be bimmed and we go
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  Speaker 2: down a path that is actually genuinely sustainable, which we
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  Speaker 2: think is what the Chief Minister actually wants now.
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  Speaker 1: And do you think that that is still going to
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  Speaker 1: be something that can build the economy when you look
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  Speaker 1: at those renewables. Is it something that we can really,
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  Speaker 1: you know, hang our hats on for diversifying the economy.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I think that we can. It's obviously the case
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  Speaker 2: that we've got some quite major projects that are in
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  Speaker 2: the pipeline, including of course the some cable project. What
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  Speaker 2: we haven't really seen here in the territory though, is
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  Speaker 2: the same level of investment in the renewable energy by
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  Speaker 2: the government and by the taxpayer that we've seen for gas.
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  Speaker 2: And I believe that if we shifted that focus squarely
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  Speaker 2: to renewables, we could see huge amounts of jobs in
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  Speaker 2: the territory and including in remote communities. We have the
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to completely transform our economy and become a renewable
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  Speaker 2: superpower and export that energy. They're the kinds of things
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  Speaker 2: we should be doing, not tying ourselves to dying industries
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  Speaker 2: that are on there way out and clearly aren't viable
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  Speaker 2: even with huge amounts of taxpayer money.
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  Speaker 1: Now, before I let you go this morning, what's the
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  Speaker 1: latest on the legal challenge over Santos's Barossa gas project.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, well, I've got some exciting news. Of course. That
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  Speaker 2: case was heard a few weeks ago by the Federal
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  Speaker 2: Court and it related to it was the tee Wee
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  Speaker 2: Islanders challenge to not seem as approval of that of
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  Speaker 2: that drilling project off share north of the Tewee Island.
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  Speaker 2: And the judgment will be delivered on Wednesday by the
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  Speaker 2: Federal Court. And not only that, it will be live streams,
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  Speaker 2: so there'll be an opportunity for people to be able
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  Speaker 2: to watch that, and I'm sure it will be you know,
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  Speaker 2: you'll be able to see it online and on television.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we'll probably catch up with you again then in
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  Speaker 1: the near future, by the sounds of it, Kirsty.
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  Speaker 2: No worries. Thanks so much, Katie, Thank you
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate your time.