Protect Country Alliance is outraged following media reports that a federal disallowance motion to prevent taxpayer money being given to a company wanting to frack the heart of the Territory appears doomed to fail.
Labor appears set to vote with the Morrison Government against a motion that would have scuttled the government’s attempts to donate $21M to prolific political donor Empire Energy to help the company build three frack wells in the Beetaloo Basin.
The decision comes amid a Senate Inquiry that has already revealed a cosy relationship between the company and various Liberal Party figures, and highlighted Traditional Owner opposition to fracking in the area.
Protect Country Alliance spokesperson Graeme Sawyer said the impending failure of the disallowance motion showed how rotten Australian politics was.
“This multi-million dollar grant to fracking company Empire Energy stinks to high heaven, yet politicians on both sides are clambering over one another to make sure it happens,” he said.
“In light of all that has been revealed so far through the Senate Inquiry, the only reasonable response was to support the disallowance motion and block the frack funding.
“We know from the Inquiry that more consultation with communities is required. We heard the clear voices of Traditional Owners who have not given their free and prior informed consent for fracking to happen.
“This misuse of taxpayer funds is like a government paying to prop up the tobacco industry - it’s ludicrous at a time when international agencies like the IEA and IPCC have made it crystal clear that we cannot afford to open new polluting gasfields, let alone support them with public money.
“Fracking is a technology that belongs in the last century. It lays waste to farmland, communities, and the water that sustains so much of the Territory. Renewables with battery storage are the cheaper, cleaner way to power communities. It’s a shame the majority of Liberal and Labor politicians are unable to see this.
“It is one thing for Labor to support the increasing use of fossil fuels in spite of the warnings from the IPCC but it is quite another for it to actually support the Liberal Party’s push to give taxpayer funds to these greedy corporations. Too many of our federal politicians are clearly not concerned about the climate threat to all Australians.”