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Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know the federal government say they've got plans to
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: accelerate gas exploration and development in the be Toloo sub basin.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line to tell us more is
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  Speaker 1: the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pete.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, great to be with you, great with your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister, how do you plan to accelerate exploration in
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  Speaker 1: the b Toloo.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we've announced the Strategic Basin Plan for the be Toloo.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, there'll be five for gas across the country,
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  Speaker 2: but the b to Lou was first. It's in the
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  Speaker 2: front of the queue. And today we've announced another fifty
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  Speaker 2: million dollars for the B Toloo Cooperative Drilling Program and
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  Speaker 2: this is about an incentive program to get more exploration
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  Speaker 2: underway in the b Toloo, so we confirm the resource
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  Speaker 2: up and give more confidence to industry.
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  Speaker 1: Now I understand that there is already or I thought
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  Speaker 1: there was already some exploration happening. Is it that you
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  Speaker 1: want more happening or why exactly is that fifty million needed?
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  Speaker 2: Well, there is some happening right now, but we want
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  Speaker 2: to accelerate that exploration. We want to accelerate the investment.
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  Speaker 2: I mean this is something in a high volume development scenario,
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  Speaker 2: BLU could create up to six thousand jobs over the
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  Speaker 2: next twenty years. That's a lot of work into the territory.
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  Speaker 2: That's a lot of investment. And it's all about confidence.
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  Speaker 2: Everything we can do that will give confidence to industry
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  Speaker 2: the resources there as we expect we can get underway faster.
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  Speaker 2: And of course we're targeting the dry season for next
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  Speaker 2: year to get a lot of this work done.
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  Speaker 1: And some minister is that funding that's available that fifty million,
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  Speaker 1: that's just for the be Toloo. That's not for the
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  Speaker 1: other locations around Australia as well.
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  Speaker 2: Now that is just for the Beaterloo. So grants of
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  Speaker 2: up to twenty five percent for those eligible expiration activities,
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  Speaker 2: maximum of seven and a half million dollars per well,
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  Speaker 2: a maximum of three wells per company per organization. And
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  Speaker 2: of course we want this to happen in the dry
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  Speaker 2: season and we think we can bring forward that gas
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  Speaker 2: out of the b Toloo by two or three years
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  Speaker 2: by this investment.
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  Speaker 1: Now, in terms of from the Federal government's perspective, what
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  Speaker 1: do you see the bea Toloo doing when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to delivering energy to the rest of the country.
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  Speaker 2: I mean the estimates of the moment that it could
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  Speaker 2: hold up to two hundred thousand what's known as pj's
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  Speaker 2: in terms of the energy capacity of total gas. Now
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  Speaker 2: that is enough at a very very conservative estimate in
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  Speaker 2: terms of recovery rate to meet australs gas demands for
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  Speaker 2: twelve years. So this is a really big resource. It's
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  Speaker 2: a very important piece of exploration work. We want to
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  Speaker 2: bring it forward. We want to link it into of
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  Speaker 2: course domestic gas supplies and exports and drive more industries.
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  Speaker 2: And there's a lot of liquid commensate we believe there
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  Speaker 2: as well, and that's really important fuel and feedstock for
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  Speaker 2: plastics and pesticides and chemical manufacturing. That's all good for jobs.
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  Speaker 1: And you said that that was a conservative view. I
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: think twelve years, what's an optimistic one.
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  Speaker 2: Oh well, it's better than that. So I think this
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  Speaker 2: is what it's about. Fifty million dollars from the Commonwealth.
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  Speaker 2: We can firm up the resource, we can get more
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  Speaker 2: exploration activities happening sooner. We think this is one of
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  Speaker 2: the best ways to do it. I've got more to
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  Speaker 2: say about the b Toloo and our strategic as plan
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  Speaker 2: for that development. But this is great news for the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Cadi's great news for jobs.
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  Speaker 1: And then when you talk about manufacturing, I mean you
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  Speaker 1: and I have spoken about this before. I've spoken to
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Liveris about it. We talk about it and hear
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  Speaker 1: about it quite a bit in terms of manufacturing. Is
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory on the federal government radar as a
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  Speaker 1: manufacturing hub? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Look, absolutely, whether we're looking very closely the opportunities for
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory, I've got to tell you Sam McMahon
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  Speaker 2: just doesn't leave me alone when it comes to jobs,
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  Speaker 2: particularly in that manufacturing space around Darwin and elsewhere. But
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  Speaker 2: we need competitive gas that's competitively priced so we can
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  Speaker 2: be internationally competitive for that manufacturing. We've got over a
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  Speaker 2: billion dollars available in our Modern Manufacturing Fund through Karen Andrews.
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  Speaker 2: We know what our six key areas are and they
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  Speaker 2: do include agriculture, they do include beverages, they include critical minerals.
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  Speaker 2: All of these things have opportunities into the territory and
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  Speaker 2: people like Sam McMahon just keep Addison Addison, She's one
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a track to my office. But anyway,
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  Speaker 2: that's the job, and I'm looking forward to delivering these
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  Speaker 2: jobs and this funding into the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Now. I know there's a lot of Territorians that see
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  Speaker 1: this as being a really positive thing. They certainly look
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  Speaker 1: to those jobs and look at this and look at
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  Speaker 1: gas as being, you know, a better option than some
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  Speaker 1: of the other options who've got when it comes to energy.
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  Speaker 1: But I know that Graham Sawyer from Lock the Gate,
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  Speaker 1: the Lock the Gate Alliance, He's come out this morning
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  Speaker 1: and said that what this announcement clearly shows is that
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  Speaker 1: fracking the Beterloo Basin for gas is not economically viable
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  Speaker 1: without massive subsidies. Is that the case?
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  Speaker 2: I think that's complete nonsense. We've put forward funding so
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  Speaker 2: we can bring forward that exploration, that we can provide
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  Speaker 2: more confidence to industry that we can get those jobs
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  Speaker 2: on the go sooner. And I think everyone listening to
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  Speaker 2: your program that's something they'd want that we have a
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  Speaker 2: greater opportunity for the economy of the territory. We have
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  Speaker 2: a greater opportunity for more jobs into the territory sooner
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  Speaker 2: than it would have been otherwise. And this is one
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  Speaker 2: way that we can do it. With support from the Commonwealth.
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  Speaker 1: Now, he went on to say that the world is
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  Speaker 1: moving away from fossil fuels and renewable energy technology is
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  Speaker 1: now by far the cheapest, most efficient way to power
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  Speaker 1: homes and industry. Is that the case from your perspective, No,
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  Speaker 1: and so I mean should we be moving more towards
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  Speaker 1: the you know, those the greener renewable energy.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, look, I'm my answer before it's a little bit flippant,
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  Speaker 2: but where we utilize a range, a very broad range
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  Speaker 2: of generation in terms of electricity across the country, whether
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  Speaker 2: it is traditional hydro, whether it's gas, whether it's coal,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's sol or whether it's wind. But everything has
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  Speaker 2: its place. The most important thing we can do for
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  Speaker 2: electricity users, first and foremost is ensure that it's affordable.
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  Speaker 2: But secondly, it has to be reliable. And we know
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  Speaker 2: that intermittent wind and solar supplies can never provide that
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  Speaker 2: consistency and that reliability that we need for industry. A
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  Speaker 2: gas can certainly do that, whether it's used as a
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  Speaker 2: peaker or like the territory where you use gas for
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: your electricity generation, and predominantly right now, we've got to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we can continue to provide that reliability,
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  Speaker 2: that the system is reliable into the future. If we
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  Speaker 2: want manufacturing, we need affordable electricity, affordable gas and the
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  Speaker 2: right workforce. The territory is absolutely pump primed for these
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  Speaker 2: outcomes and we're looking to make sure it happens sooner
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  Speaker 2: with this sort of support.
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  Speaker 1: Minister just very quickly, Well, doue to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: I think about this time last week, but there was
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  Speaker 1: a division in Parliament and you had to run off.
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  Speaker 1: But there were some changes announced or certainly there was
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  Speaker 1: an announcement around the NAPE, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
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  Speaker 1: What's happening in this space and are you hoping that
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  Speaker 1: there's going to be more projects that are able to
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  Speaker 1: actually access that funding under the KNAFE.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, you're right, Katie. The bells the bells Parliament. That's
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  Speaker 2: the priority. But yeah, I did announce more changes to
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. The Commwealth has made five
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  Speaker 2: hundred million dollars of the two point six billion that's
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  Speaker 2: currently left in the NAVE fund available for what'snelle as equity,
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  Speaker 2: so effectively will become shareholders in these projects for projects
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  Speaker 2: up to a value of one hundred million. We won't
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  Speaker 2: be a majority shareholder, so that means up to fifty
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  Speaker 2: million from the Comwealth and that should give even more
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  Speaker 2: confidence to those proponents to get their projects underway. This
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  Speaker 2: is something that my colleagues have been asking for for
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  Speaker 2: some time, whether it is Sam McMahon and the territory
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  Speaker 2: or Georgia, Christians and across in Queensland. They think it
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  Speaker 2: will help drive confidence and more projects and more jobs.
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  Speaker 2: I agree. We've got that through the process and it's
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  Speaker 2: a significant change for the NATS. They will need further
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: skills internally to make those assessments, but once again, this
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  Speaker 2: is about post pandemic jobs boom, jobs boom for the
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  Speaker 2: territory and elsewhere, and everything I can do to make
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  Speaker 2: that happen, well, that's what I'm focused on.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt,
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  Speaker 1: we always appreciate your time. Thank you for having a
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  Speaker 1: chat today, mate.
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  Speaker 2: Greater with you