Matt Cunningham analysis of Eva Lawler replacing Natasha Fyles

Environmentalists cheering the demise of Natasha Fyles as the Northern Territory’s chief minister might well be waking up today with buyers’ regret, writes Matt Cunningham.

Eva Lawler and Natasha Fyles at the swearing-in ceremony at Government House, December 2023. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Environmentalists cheering the demise of Natasha Fyles as the Northern Territory’s chief minister might well be waking up today with buyers’ regret.

Somehow, over the past year, a narrative has managed to take hold that Fyles was a pro-gas, anti-environment leader.

She was harassed by anti-frackers and admonished by left-leaning Federal MPs.

The view was perhaps helped by her “teals and trolls” speech at the National Press Club, although a close inspection of that speech reveals the word “gas” was never mentioned.

Fyles was painted as a patsy of the oil and gas industry.

But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, Fyles is without doubt the greenest chief minister the Northern Territory has ever had.

Only last week she was refusing to categorically say if she supported Santos’s Barossa gas development.

It’s hard to imagine any of her predecessors taking a similar position on a $5.8 billion project that will bring hundreds of jobs to the Top End.

As chief minister, Fyles, a Nightcliff environmentalist (is that a tautology?), had to shift to a more moderate position.

You can’t be in charge of a stalling economy and be outright opposing developments that might improve your parlous fiscal position.

To do otherwise would be to ensure annihilation at the next election.

But she was caught between the concerns of the broader community, and those of her well-to-do green-leaning electorate.

The voice referendum revealed how different the concerns of voters in Nightcliff are to the rest of Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs.

The Territory voted 60-40 against the Voice.

In the Nightcliff booth the vote was 60-40 in favour.

And many of the Nightcliff and Rapid Creek fences that displayed big “Yes” placards, had them placed right next to ones that said “Save Lee Point” and “No Fracking”.

Nightcliff will be the first Territory seat to fall to a Green or teal independent (watch out for a group called “Voice of the Top End”).

The only thing that stands in its way now is Fyles’ personal popularity.

Labor will be grateful she will still recontest her seat in 2024, despite stepping down as chief minister.

In an unusual twist, Fyles was forced to resign for failing to declare shares she held in a mining company.

This led to cheering in some quarters that it was her links to mining and resources that had brought her down.

But if they thought a new chief minister was going to ban fracking and cancel Middle Arm, they’ve been sadly mistaken.

When I interviewed new Chief Minister Eva Lawler yesterday, she said this: “I’m the biggest supporter of the onshore oil and gas industry and have been since day one.”

She also pointed to the work she’d done as environment minister to ensure there are stringent protections around the industry.

But she insisted the onshore gas industry was crucial for the NT.

“We need jobs in the Territory and Middle Arm provides about 20,000 jobs,” she said, pointing out that some of those jobs will come from renewables.

Asked about Barossa she said: “I absolutely want to see it go ahead, it’s a $6 billion project. We have had an offshore gas industry, we’ve had LNG we’ve got Conoco, Darwin LNG, Ichthys, they’ve worked very successfully on our harbour. We have great relationships with Inpex, some of the best relationships our government has. We need the Barossa project to go ahead.”

Those sort of comments – along with a tougher approach on crime – will enhance Labor’s chances of holding on to power next year.

They might also have environmentalists pining for Natasha Fyles.