NT Chief Minister heads to Japan to ‘provide certainty’ to industry
After a significant win for Santos’ Barossa project, Chief Minister Eva Lawler hopes a taxpayer funded trip to Japan will shore up crucial investor confidence in the Territory gas market.
Northern Territory
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The Chief Minister says businesses should feel secure about investing in the Territory after Monday’s court ruling in favour of Santos’ Barossa gas project, as she prepares to fly to Japan to meet with key industry representatives.
During the overseas trip from Monday to Wednesday next week, Eva Lawler will meet with representatives and investors from companies including INPEX and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Japan is the NT’s largest trade partner, accounting for 47 per cent of exports worth $7.4bn with Darwin supplying 10 per cent of the country’s Liquified Natural Gas needs.
Ms Lawler said she wanted to assure the chief executive of fossil fuel giant INPEX “face-to-face” that the NT government “will absolutely always back the LNG industry”, as well as both offshore and onshore oil and gas industries.
“INPEX, I know, would like to have that certainty around the directions of our government, and I’ll be providing that certainty,” she said.
Her announcement comes the day after a Federal Court judge ruled Santos could proceed with its $5.3bn Barossa LNG project, rejecting traditional owners’ claims the proposed pipeline off the Tiwi Islands would cause irreparable damage to First Nations people and cultural sites.
Ms Lawler welcomed the “great decision” that “provides certainty” to Santos.
She acknowledged the threat of litigation could cool investment, but said her government had done enough to clarify cultural and environmental consultation requirements.
“That work has already been put in place, we had the review, we had the (Hydraulic Fracturing Inquiry) report that says very clearly the work that needs to be done,” Ms Lawler said.
“The ball is with the federal government now … I think the federal government have heard that loudly and clearly as well.”
Offshore oil and gas projects fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, who last week released a discussion paper on how to better clarify consultation requirements.
The CLP’s Bill Yan called on Chief Minister Lawler to release the costings of the Japan trip, and questioned why the trade minister was not going in her place.
Ms Lawler is in fact also the trade minister, and her office confirmed travel costs would be made public on Sunday.
“Japan being our biggest trade partner, they certainly require some form of investment from us as a Territory,” Mr Yan said.
“But why does the Chief Minister have to go? We have a minister responsible for trade, it would make sense for that minister to go across and do those negotiations and for the Chief Minister to stay home here and look after the Territory, particularly at this critical juncture in time.”
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