“Anti-Territorian”: Chief Minister’s secret plan to hand herself powers to override NT environment laws

A leaked Finocchiaro Government briefing document reveals a secret CLP plan to pass laws that give the Chief Minister and an unelected bureaucrat (the Territory Coordinator) sweeping powers to fast-track and override environmental laws in the NT.

The “Territory Coordinator Consultation Paper” reveals that the Territory Coordinator and Chief Minister will be handed unprecedented sweeping powers to “step in” and take over environmental approval and assessment processes themselves for designated projects, and exempt projects altogether from environment laws. This could see greatly reduced scrutiny of environmentally harmful projects, including stripping back the rights of community members to voice their concerns about these projects. It is unclear who has been consulted about these changes, but comments are due by 1 November 2024, signalling that the laws may be brought before the Legislative Assembly in the next sittings (26 to 28 November).

These regressive laws could apply to some of the most controversial and environmentally harmful projects in Australia, including fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, the Singleton Station development, carbon capture and storage and land clearing and water licence approvals for expansion of the cotton industry in the NT. Environment groups say the laws are authoritarian, anti-democratic, anti-Territorian and an attack on democracy and the Territory lifestyle the Government says it wants to protect. They claim the Chief Minister has no mandate for these laws, which are unprecedented in Australia and a blow for transparency, the rule of law and community rights.

Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of ECNT:

“These pernicious laws are profoundly anti-democratic and anti-Territorian, and will see power arbitrarily wielded in favour of fossil fuel company profits over communities.”

“The CLP has talked up protecting the Territory lifestyle, while cooking up a secret blueprint to let Big Business destroy it by tearing up protections for our harbour, rivers and the nature that makes the Territory special.”

“Without proper checks and balances, big industrial development will be unleashed which pollutes our rivers and aquifers and the air we breathe.”

“Powers to exempt and fast-track destructive projects like fracking and cotton expansion are a massive blow for transparency, the rule of law and community rights.”

Background:

• A leaked document shows that the Territory Coordinator will be established to “act as an intermediary between the Crown, government agencies and project proponents with the goal of getting projects off the ground, growing the population, creating jobs, and rebuilding the Territory economy”
• In reality, the Territory Coordinator and the Chief Minister will have powers to (with respect to “projects of Territory significance” and “Territory development areas”):
  • Direct decision-makers to make decisions within certain timeframes (TC only);
  • “Step in” and undertake an assessment themselves instead of the NTEPA or relevant decision-makers (TC and Chief Minister);
  • Exempt projects altogether from approvals (TC and Chief Minister).
• Decisions of the Territory Coordinator and Chief Minister are guided by a “primary principle” that elevates the objective of driving economic prosperity above all other considerations, and “will provide grounds for the TC or Minister to make a different decision to that which may have been made by the original decision maker”
• Projects possibly in scope include Beetaloo Basin (offshore gas and “critical infrastructure” corridors are expressly mentioned), large scale renewables, the Singleton Station development, cotton expansion in the Douglas Daly and Roper River catchments, and Middle Arm.
• While making reference to similar powers in other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally, it seems these powers would be unprecedented in an Australian context – effectively providing an ability for the Chief Minister and TC to override environmental laws altogether.
• The briefing papers says that projects subject to the EPBC Act bilateral agreement would be exempted, as would the Sacred Sites Act and native title and land rights processes.