Traditional owners and green groups in the Northern Territory say a new law is allowing companies exploring for gas to start selling it before they have gone through the approval processes needed for full production is putting the community at risk.

Indigenous traditional owners and green groups are accusing the NT Government of exposing the community to risk because its passed new laws which allow companies exploring for gas to start selling it before they've gone through full production approvals processes.

Fracking has been approved for the Northern Territory, and thousands of wells could soon dot an area covering many Aboriginal Nations.

Exclusive: Traditional owners in the Beetaloo basin say they are not being effectively represented in the battle against a major gas industry expansion. The Northern Land Council denies the claim.

When I heard the news that fracking would go ahead on my grandparents’ country, I felt my spirit and heart were breaking.

Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, which represents Traditional Owners from across the Beetaloo Basin, has responded to news that fracking company Tamboran Resources is in the running for a role in the Middle Arm gas export hub by calling on the Albanese government to withdraw its $1.5 billion funding allocation and divert it to improving energy security, housing, health and education in Aboriginal communities (“NT to anoint fracking, hydrogen, battery mineral hopefuls”, AFR, 8 June 2023).

Commenting on ABC 7.30’s coverage last night of pollution incidents from Tamboran’s exploration well on Tanumbirini cattle station in the NT’s Beetaloo Basin, one of which has attracted a financial penalty while another remains under investigation, Traditional Owners have expressed their dismay at risks to their country and, in particular, the sacred Newcastle Creek which runs across the Beetaloo Basin and has sites protected under the NT Sacred Sites Act.

Traditional owners and a cattle station company are alarmed at the environmental threat of fracking on their land after the Northern Territory government lifted its moratorium on the controversial practice.

The Northern Territory is on the cusp of developing what could be one of the world's largest shale gas developments, but critics say a recent incident in the Beetaloo Basin has raised questions about the Government's ability to protect the environment.

The gas industry's promise of fracking-related jobs in the Beetaloo Basin has divided Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, leaving some feeling hopeful and others suspicious.

Traditional Owners from the Beetaloo Basin region who oppose fracking on their country today expressed their solidarity with senior Larrakia people who are frustrated by the failure of the Northern Territory government to properly consult with them about the proposed Middle Arm development.

When announcing the decision to allow commercial gas production to go ahead in the Beetaloo Basin this week, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said Indigenous people had the power to stop a gas development.

Onshore fracking has been given the green light in the Northern Territory’s gas-rich Beetaloo Basin, clearing the way for a controversial expansion of wells and production in a move that has dismayed traditional owners and environmental groups.

Traditional Owners of the Beetaloo Basin, located approximately 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin, have called for a halt to plans for large scale fracking production in the region until proper consultation occurs with Native Title holders.

The Northern Territory government has decided to allow a full-scale onshore gas industry to go ahead in the Beetaloo Basin about 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin.