The Australian Greens support the extension of the Beetaloo inquiry into the 47th Parliament so that the committee can continue to wade through the cronyism, corporate favours and even allegations of corruption that is emanating from the entire Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Program (BCD Program) at both a Federal and Territory level. The Australian Greens believe that applying pressure to the next government to halt this program is of paramount importance so that First Nations voices in particular can continue to be heard.
BCD Program
In August 2021, the committee’s Interim Report identified multiple concerns with the BCD Program, including that three funding grants of up to $21 million had been awarded to Imperial Oil and Gas, a fully owned subsidiary of Empire Energy Group Ltd (Empire Energy).
The committee found that Empire Energy had deep connections to the Liberal Party, and had lobbied government ministers, attended party fundraisers and flown the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, the Hon Angus Taylor MP, and his staff on a private jet prior to the grants decisions. These highly questionable activities had the actual or perceived effect of improperly influencing grants decisions subsequently made by the Minister for Resources and Water, the Hon Keith Pitt MP.
The Australian Greens moved that the funding instrument—the Industry Research and Development (Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Program) Instrument 2021—be disallowed by the Senate however, this did not occur as the two major parties voted to retain the $50 million in funding.
Coalition Government’s response to scrutiny
Throughout the inquiry, the committee sought further information from Minister Taylor and Minister Pitt (collectively, ‘the Ministers’), to facilitate the full and proper scrutiny of the BCD Program.
The Senate has since on two occasions ordered the production of unredacted documents that show correspondence between Empire Energy and the Ministers of the Crown. The Ministers have consistently resisted this scrutiny, by repeatedly providing late and incomplete responses to the committee’s requests and the Senate’s orders for further information.
The Australian Greens view the Ministers’ behaviour as being calculated to obstruct the inquiry, hide the nature of the relationship between government Ministers and donors receiving public money, as well as demonstrating complete disregard for the function of the Senate and the committee. In addition, this behaviour has been a wilful misuse of the Senate and Senators’ time.
Gas company in possible contempt of Parliament
A second company that has since received a grant after tabling of the committee’s Interim Report, Sweetpea Petroleum Pty Ltd (Sweetpea), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tamboran Resources Ltd (Tamboran), was gifted $7.5 million under the BCD Program.
Tamboran has refused to give evidence to the committee, despite the committee having taken the rare step of issuing a summons to compel attendance at a public hearing on 25 March 2022.
As a result of Tamboran’s conduct, the committee has agreed to initiate a referral to the Senate Privileges Committee to face a possible contempt of Parliament, a finding of which could result in a maximum fine against the corporation of $25 000 under subsection 7(5) of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987.
To date, the committee has not been afforded an opportunity to ask Tamboran about its joint venture project with Santos in the Beetaloo, Sweetpea’s registration in a notorious tax haven (Delaware) and any relationship that the companies might have with the Coalition Government.
The waiving of a Russian oligarch’s financial benefit under Australian sanctions law
On 18 March 2022, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, announced that Mr Viktor Vekselberg has been sanctioned under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Autonomous Sanctions Act). Mr Vekselberg is a Russian billionaire who was sanctioned by the US Government in April 2018 through his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Vekselberg—through his personal financial vehicle (Lamesa Holdings), owns a 16 per cent stake in Canadian-based Falcon Oil and Gas, whose fully owned subsidiary, Falcon Oil and Gas Australia (Falcon), is in a joint venture with Origin Energy Ltd (Origin Energy)— holds widespread interests in the Beetaloo sub‑basin across three exploration permit areas.
In the words of Origin Energy’s Government Engagement Manager, Tim O’Grady, Mr Vekselberg has a financial interest in that venture of approximately four per cent.
When asked whether the transition from exploration to production stage would increase the value of Mr Vekselberg’s shareholdings, or the NT Government granting an asset in the form of permit, was in breach of Australia’s sanctions regime, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was unable to shed any light on the matter.
The department could not speak to ministerial communications on the sanctioning of Mr Vekselberg or what intergovernmental collaboration might have occurred. Nor could representatives confirm whether they had identified the assets of Mr Vekselberg: ‘there can be very complex business structures which make those things difficult’.
International media reports suggest that the oligarch uses shell companies to conceal his assets, as shown in the case of his superyacht ‘Tango’ which was recently seized by Spanish and US authorities under international sanction laws.
Despite not having clear answers for the committee on 25 March, on 12 April news media reported that Origin Energy has now received guidance from DFAT that the company is not currently in breach of Australia’s sanctions law, as Mr Vekselberg is not benefitting from any asset ‘tied to’ the Beetaloo joint venture.
The committee has requested further information from DFAT regarding this position, but that information has not been provided. Given the pattern of behaviour from government Ministers benefiting gas companies, further exploration of why the government has waived Mr Vekselberg’s interests in the Beetaloo from Australia’s sanction regime requires further investigation.
The Australian Greens maintain that the committee must be allowed to properly examine the important matters that have been referred to it by the Senate, without interference and with the cooperation of the executive government, prior to concluding its report on this inquiry.
Referral to NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption
The Australian Greens note that some stakeholders questioned the degree of separation between Ministers, departments and the onshore gas industry, with evidence of donations, overseas trips and employment directly between government and industry.
Further, in this last week, during the caretaker period, news media reported that the NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security has been referred to the NT’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption for awarding a research contract to an organisation, the circumstances of which appear to be a deliberate attempt to avoid adverse research findings on an environmental risk that may delay or even prevent fracking in the Beetaloo.
Both the Federal and NT Governments appear to be doing whatever it takes to open up this giant new gas field. In the 2022-23 Federal Budget alone, the Coalition Government committed $1.5 billion towards new petrochemical infrastructure at Middle Arm in Darwin Harbour, which would act as a guaranteed customer for Beetaloo gas.
In the Australian Greens’ view, decisions with a clear nexus to fracking in the Beetaloo—such as the contract decision by the NT Government—should be subject to scrutiny.
Announcement of a key bilateral agreement
The Australian Greens’ concern is exacerbated by a key development that occurred two days prior to the announcement of the Federal Election and the Australian Government entering into caretaker mode on 12 April 2022.
On 10 April the Coalition and NT Governments quietly signed the Commonwealth-Northern Territory Bilateral Energy and Emissions Reduction Agreement (Bilateral Agreement). The committee sought further information about this long‑anticipated agreement throughout the inquiry but received very little information or updates from government departments.
The Bilateral Agreement is critical to understanding how the governments intend to avoid or offset the massive amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that will be generated by shale gas developments in the Beetaloo.
The Australian Greens question the timing of this development that appears to have been calculated to avoid scrutiny during the election period, not only by the committee but also by various stakeholders in the Territory and nation‑wide.
Concerns expressed to the committee show that there is a waning commitment to honour all 135 recommendations from the Pepper Inquiry, which was the promise made by the NT Government when it lifted its moratorium on fracking.
For example, Ms Alina Leikin, Special Counsel to the Environmental Defenders Office, contended that the NT Government has not properly or fully implemented a number of recommendations from the Pepper Inquiry:
[the NT] government…is not moving towards implementation quickly enough or seemingly at all. From our perspective, it seems to be an issue probably of political will… At this stage Pepper in its totality—and the recommendations were that every single one be implemented—doesn't look like it will ever be possible because a decision is being made at the federal level for the water trigger not to cover shale gas. I think the Pepper inquiry is used as a shield to say, 'It's going to be safe. All of the impacts on communities and the environment are going to be properly managed.' However, what we do know is that Pepper is never going to be implemented in full.
The Beetaloo has the potential to increase Australia’s emissions by up to 13 per cent, with total lifecycle emissions up to double Australia’s entire current emissions. Viewing this in combination with the apparent abandonment of the NT Government to require gas companies to offset all lifecycle emissions, this inquiry must continue to scrutinise the roll-out of funding and other ‘in kind’ support from the federal and NT Governments into the 47th Parliament.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Chair