The Safeguard Mechanism now requires stronger action to cut pollution from gas projects including full abatement of reservoir emissions.

NT water policy changes are aimed at expanding irrigation, particularly cotton production. Government and industry claims that cotton expansion would create significant employment and tax payments are not supported by data. Census figures show that cotton is one of the least jobsintensive sectors in the economy. According to the Australian Tax Office, major cotton companies

Received wisdom suggests that one-term governments are rare in Australia. New governments benefit from incumbency, the “sophomore surge” and perhaps a reluctance among voters to change directions twice in a short period of time. The Napthine Government entered the 2014 Victorian election the underdog, argued election analyst Antony Green, “a unusual situation for a first

The Australia Institute made a submission to the consultation process regarding Recommendation 14.1 of the NT Fracking Inquiry, “That prior to the granting of any further production approvals, the Government designs and implements a full cost-recovery system for the regulation of any onshore shale gas industry.”

The draft offsets policy undermines the NT Government policy of adopting Fracking Inquiry Recommendation 9.8 – that all life-cycle emissions from onshore gas projects be offset. The draft policy also proposes ‘indirect emissions offsets’ that are not utilised in any other jurisdiction and would be entirely without integrity. Indirect offsets would undermine other offset markets

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,004 Australians about their views on various restrictions on the rights and representation of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Unconventional gas in the Northern Territory is unpopular and uneconomic, risking water resources, the climate and taxpayer funds. It provides little revenue and very few jobs. Government-commissioned studies show this is unlikely to change under modelled production scenarios. The recommendations of the Territory’s fracking inquiry are not being met, particularly information programs for Aboriginal people

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,434 Australians about their attitudes to voluntary assisted dying. Results show that most Australians support voluntary assisted dying with appropriate safeguards, and the rights of territories to legislate their own voluntary assisted dying laws. Three in four Australians (76%) agree with the principle that

Offshore oil and gas industries contribute little to the Australian economy in terms of tax revenue or employment. Many projects represent a net cost to the Australian community, as subsidies, cleanup costs, environmental impacts and resource depletion outweigh the relatively small tax and employment benefits. This bill should be supported as it could assist in

Australia’s federal parliamentarians have never been so thinly spread. Whereas at Federation there were 51,000 Australians per House of Representatives MP, there are now 170,000 Australians per MP. That leaves MPs stretched and voters disengaged. It is bad enough that there are 170,000 Australians per MP, but it is even worse that rounding the NT’s

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Northern Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission, highlighting research on fiscal stimulus design and the minimal stimulus that would be created from government subsidisation or other assistance to the fossil gas industry.

The Australia Institute made a submission on the AEMC’s draft determination on the Northern Gas Pipeline – Derogation from Part 23. The Northern Gas Pipeline from the NT was given special treatment outside the National Gas Rules. The exemption is problematic and based on an “anomaly”. It should be revoked for future pipelines, to prevent

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Northern Territory Government’s consultation on Origin Energy’s Environment Management Plan for fracking petroleum wells in the Territory.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NT Government’s Climate Change Discussion Paper. Emissions from increased NT gas production would dwarf all other sources of NT emissions and threaten Australia’s national targets. Allowing fracking and offsetting its emissions, as promised, is an expensive way to keep emissions stable and could make it harder to

Scott Morrison rushed through a $260 million payment to the Northern Territory in a matter of days at the same time the NT Government overturned the moratorium on gas fracking. Morrison committed to the funding just three days after the fracking decision, in a letter of offer to the NT that also refers to that

Extracting gas from the Northern Territory through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the largest potential sources of carbon pollution in the world. The Fracking Inquiry that reported earlier this year recommended that unconventional gas extraction should only be permitted if the all 135 recommendations are accepted and implemented. All recommendations were accepted by the

The Community Development Program (CDP) is remote Australia’s Work for the Dole (WFD) and “job assistance” scheme. In place since 2015, it operates across almost 75 percent of Australia’s area, an area with a population of just 304,000 people. Indigenous people are over 80% of the CDP’s 34,000 participants. In other words, CDP participants are

New analysis from the Australia institute has found that emissions from NT Fracking identified by the Fracking Inquiry would be equivalent to 100 times more than the emissions savings under the Northern Territory Government’s Roadmap to Renewables: 50% by 2030 policy.  Key findings include that NT fracking could result in emissions that: Increase Australia’s total

The number of days over 35oC in Darwin has increased from 5.6 per year to 22.2 per year. CSIRO modelling estimates that without climate action this could rise to 132 days per year in 2030 and 275 days per year in 2070. Such extreme heat would have profound effects on human health, industries and ecosystems.

The Draft Final Report of the Northern Territory Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturingeffectively recommends approval of unconventional gas development in the NorthernTerritory. It does this despite the huge potential climate change impacts of developing ashale gas industry, which this submission focuses on. Development of onshore shale oil and gas fields in the Northern Territory could

The Australia Institute made a submission on the Draft Report of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory (the Inquiry). The submission focuses on Chapter 13 Economic Impacts of the Draft Report and the report by ACIL Allen The economic impacts of a potential shale gas development in the Northern Territory (the

The McArthur River zinc-lead mine in the Northern Territory imposes significant environmental costs on the local community. Claims that it could produce government revenue of over $1.5 billion are based on flawed economic modelling that estimates tax revenues over a 1,000 year period.

Development of unconventional gas in the NT risks connecting the NT to the chaos in wider Australian gas markets. As the nation becomes a major gas exporter with record production there have been no winners.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Scientific inquiry into hydraulic fracturing in the Northern Territory. Our submission focuses on Theme 7.7 of the Background and Issues Paper, economic impacts and also addresses other themes that the Institute has conducted research on.

The North East Gas Interconnector (NEGI) is a proposed gas pipeline between the Northern Territory and the eastern states. The project is strongly endorsed by gas companies, the Territory government and governments in other states, but analysis is lacking as to the actual benefits to Territorians and the rest of Australia.While there is a shortage