Member for Braitling Dale Wakefield rubbishes Terry Mills’ fracking backflip
MEMBER for Braitling Dale Wakefield has labelled the Territory Alliance party’s backflip on fracking as untrustworthy, slamming the party leader Terry Mills’ ‘appalling’ record on the environment
Northern Territory
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MEMBER for Braitling Dale Wakefield has labelled Territory Alliance’s backflip on fracking as untrustworthy, slamming the party leader’s “appalling” record on the environment.
The Minister for Energy and Renewables told the Centralian Advocate the sudden about-face couldn’t be trusted because of Terry Mills’s history on environmental issues.
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“Over a long career in Territory politics, his record speaks for itself,” she said.
“He supported a nuclear waste dump in the NT. As chief minister, he scrapped climate policy and opposed action on climate change.
“As chief minister, he scrapped renewable energy policy and is promising to scrap Labor’s 50 per cent target.
“As CLP chief minister, he presided over water policy that gave large allocations to CLP mates.”
Mr Mills has defended his fracking flip-flop, saying he now doesn’t believe the “pipe dream” will improve the NT’s finances. He said he had too many questions about “unconventional fracking” to be able to support it, despite previously backing the controversial method of extracting gas
Mr Mills said there had been a lot of talk on his shifting view on fracking but taxpayers couldn’t afford “more pipeline dreams”.
“The facts about unconventional fracturing are clear: there remain serious questions in terms of the environment, the community is opposed to it and with the shift to renewable energy and the state of the world gas market, the economics don’t stack up,” he said.
“Fracking is a false hope.”
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In a poll conducted by environmental advocacy group Protect Country Alliance, 84 per cent of residents polled in Alice Springs said they did not support fracking.
Protect Country Alliance spokesman Graeme Sawyer said the survey proved the government’s pro-fracking policies hadn’t passed the pub test.
“NT voters want political candidates who strongly support the renewable energy economy,” he said.
Originally published as Member for Braitling Dale Wakefield rubbishes Terry Mills’ fracking backflip