The Greens have slammed Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's failure to call in Tamboran's gas fracking project in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory under the Water Trigger, as drilling and fracking for gas begins in the NT.
Despite having the power, Minister Plibersek has failed to call in Tamboran's project for assessment, breaking a promise to Northern Territorians and putting precious water aquifers and the environment at risk.
The Water Trigger was expanded under national environment laws with the Greens support in late 2023 to include unconventional gas production, closing a loophole which allowed gas fracking companies to drill without any federal environmental water assessment.
Greens Spokesperson for Environment and Water, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
"The Environment Minister has one job - to protect the environment. Minister Plibersek has either been asleep at the wheel, or she has fundamentally failed her key task with Tamboran now starting to drill for gas in the Beetaloo Basin without any environmental water assessment.
"This situation is an indictment on the Minister who is letting cowboys in the NT put precious land and water at risk, and to defy the wishes of the community and Traditional Owners.
"The Parliament gave the Environment Minister expanded powers under the water trigger specifically for cases like this. But the Minister has failed to use them.
"The Labor Government continues to show it cannot be trusted to protect our environment.
"This has been a bad week for Labor's environmental credibility - from caving into the mining companies over their own proposed environment watchdog, to this failure to ensure fracking in the NT requires proper environmental and water assessment.
"The Greens are ready to work with Minister Plibersek and the Prime Minister to strengthen Australia's broken environment laws so they actually protect nature, not coal and gas companies.
"In the meantime, the Minister should pick up the phone to Tamboran and tell them to halt their dangerous drilling until it has been properly assessed under the Water Trigger."
