The NT Lock the Gate Alliance has made a submission to the Territory Economic Summit outlining a range of risks to the Territory economy if the onshore fracking gas industry is pushed ahead.
Last night the Northern Territory Government closed for feedback and comments on the draft documents released as part of the Territory Economic Summit that has been running across the NT over recent months.
“Our submission delivers some hard hitting reality checks for the Northern Territory Government on the economic risks of allowing an onshore gas fracking industry to operate here,” said Naomi Hogan, lead researcher and spokesperson for the NT Lock the Gate Alliance.
“We took data from the Australian Taxation Office, Deloitte, the Office of the Chief Economist, CSIRO, QLD Treasury, Bloomberg and the University of Queensland to get a clear picture of the economic realities of the onshore gas fracking industry.
“The results revealed the economics of onshore fracking gasfields could be negative for the Territory and certainly would be worst than outlined by the gas lobby.
“The NTG would benefit from taking off the APPEA coloured glasses and taking a clear eyed look at the figures around onshore gas.
“Large scale industrial fracking projects are not the answer to the Territory’s economic woes if they are going to put other Territory industries in jeopardy.
“The gas industry has a track record of promising riches and exaggerating jobs figures, while playing down all the risks to other Territory industries.
The submission provides evidence that:
- Royalty payments would be less than forecast. QLD only got 7.5% of the royalties they forecast from onshore gas. Plus, gas companies operating in QLD are now in court fighting the Government on royalty figures.
- Money raised by fracking will need to be spent on dealing with increased crime, compliance officers to check if our groundwater is getting polluted and fixing up roads and infrastructure worn down by fracking companies.
- Jobs in the onshore gas industry push out other industries, and have caused job losses in the agriculture sector.
“Territorians are excellent BS detectors. We need some truly independent advice on the financial risks of fracking. We don’t want to lose the best of our Territory lifestyle because we peg false economic hopes on fracking.
Read Lock The Gate's submission to the Territory Economic Summit here.