Northern Territory Supreme Court to decide Beetaloo Basin land access dispute

The Northern Territory Supreme Court will rule on the validity of a tribunal-ordered access agreement between warring Beetaloo Basin pastoralists and gas explorers.

Rallen Australia director Pierre Langenhoven. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The Northern Territory Supreme Court will rule on the validity of a tribunal-ordered access agreement between warring Beetaloo Basin pastoralists and gas explorers in a crucial test case over rights to use the same land.

Rallen Australia acquired Tanumbirini Station south of Katherine in 2020. At that time, the area was subject to an exploration permit owned by Sweetpea Petroleum, which was later acquired by ASX-listed gas junior Tamboran Resources.

Rallen, a vehicle of the wealthy Ravazzotti and Langenhoven families, has since emerged as a forceful opponent of onshore gas exploration. The company has acquired more than a million hectares of Beetaloo Basin pastoral leases – mainly after a fracking moratorium was lifted – making it one of the nation’s largest landholders. Rallen director Pierre Langenhoven told a Senate inquiry earlier this year that onshore gas development “cannot coexist” with other industries and should not be “pursued at all”.

The NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal last month decided Tamboran should be given access to Tanumbirini and set the amount of compensation payable at about 1000-fold below what Rallen at one stage demanded.

Tamboran then entered Tanumbirini without Rallen’s consent in a move believed to be a first for disputes between pastoralists and onshore gas explorers in the NT.

The Beetaloo Basin is seen as one of Australia’s most prospective onshore gas provinces and perhaps a partial fix for the east coast energy crisis. Representatives of the resources and pastoral sectors say the Tanumbirini access dispute is a test of NT Labor’s new regulatory framework established to manage competing interests.

Rallen is appealing against the NTCAT’s decision in the NT ­Supreme Court, claiming, among other things, that Tamboran’s activities will cost it upwards of $1m a year, and the tribunal failed to provide adequate protection for its water infrastructure.

On Monday’s first day of the hearing, Mr Langenhoven said Tamboran was disrespecting Indigenous groups and pastoralists. “Its operations to date have already wreaked havoc to the station and our cattle,” he said. “Our experience suggests that if these companies go into full production, the Territory will not be able to sustain both the cattle industry and the fracking industry.”

Tamboran’s managing director and chief executive, Joel Riddle, said his company possessed all the approvals it needed and was following the law. “Tamboran has been working closely with all stakeholders, including pastoral leaseholders and traditional owners through the Northern Land Council,” he said.

“It should be deeply concerning for all Australians that a foreign entity (Rallen) can attempt to use its control over pastoral ­assets to restrict supply of new gas into the market, given the current energy crisis and desperate need for more gas.”

The appeal hearing is expected to last two days.