Anti-fracking activists concerned about lack of transparency around new Borroloola fracking proposal

Subscribers of an NT Government website have failed to receive notifications about new environmental management plans being lodged despite being told they would.

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SUBSCRIBERS of the NT Government’s ‘Have Your Say’ website have failed to receive notifications about new environmental management plans being lodged despite being told they would.

It has raised concerns about NT Government transparency.

Protect Country Alliance has specifically voiced concerns about a major fracking proposal by Empire Energy which went online with what they say was no notification and with a deadline of today for public consultation.

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The Environmental Management Plan (EMP), if approved, would see Empire drilling and fracking seven new gas exploration wells at its existing site near Borroloola.

It would also involve clearing up to 151 hectares of land for new fracking infrastructure. The ‘Have Your Say’ website was established in March to replace newspaper notifications of proposed projects and to give Territorians a chance to provide feedback.

In an email, obtained by the NT News, Environment Minister Eva Lawler told a member of Protect Country Alliance the website aims to ensure more people can provide feedback and that subscribers “will receive a notification when a new notice is published.”

However, another email from the office of the Chief Minister in response to another Protect Country Alliance member saying they have not been receiving notifications, also obtained by the NT News, said subscribing “doesn’t mean you will be automatically notified when surveys are published on the site.”

Alliance spokesman Graeme Sawyer said he is concerned the proposal may have gone unnoticed by Territorians. “This company wants to drill through the heart of the Territory and pierce its precious underground water reserves like a pincushion. The public deserves to be well informed,” he said,

A spokesman from the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet said online notices ensures “a much wider distribution.”

The spokesman also said people who subscribe to a specific government website about onshore gas in the NT will receive notifications when a new EMP is published.