Traditional Owners from Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, working to protect country from fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, today expressed alarm over Federal government plans to change national environment laws so that ‘water trigger’ powers, which allow major new fracking proposals to be assessed by independent experts for their impacts on water, be handed to Territory and State governments. See media coverage here.

In December 2023, amendments were passed by the Federal government to allow major new fracking proposals to be assessed by independent experts for their impacts on water, following a long campaign by NT Traditional Owners and community groups.

Chair of Nurrdalinji, Djingili Elder Samuel Sandy, said, “We were very relieved when the Federal government made new powers last year to look closely at how fracking companies use water and the potential risks.

“Water is everything, it is important to us culturally and to keep our plants and animals, country and drinking water healthy. Once water is lost or contaminated, it’s never going to be put right. People will have nowhere to go in the Territory, or all around Australia.

“The Federal government shouldn’t pass on this responsibility to the NT government. It should carry it itself. We don’t want another Murray Darling disaster, with our iconic Daly and Roper rivers drained out or our underground aquifers damaged.

“The incompetent NT government is weaker on water than the Federal government. The NT government is not watching closely how companies are operating on the ground and it’s happy to give away fresh water to the fracking and cotton companies like it’s not important. Water is everything for us here on the ground.

“If fracking poisons our water then cattle stations, tourists, country and sacred sites will suffer. Everyone will lose, both in the NT and across Australia”.