Fracking foes to take protest to Origin meeting

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
 
Sir – Traditional Owners and pastoralists will confront Origin Energy bigwigs as the company holds its annual general meeting in Sydney tomorrow.
Meanwhile, many continue the fight in the Territory, with drill rigs now rolling across the landscape and exploratory fracking about to commence.
 
The delegation will be calling for a resolution that would force Origin Energy to provide crucial documentation underpinning consent claims for its fracking projects in the NT.
 
We want Origin to show its shareholders what information it presented to Traditional Owner groups before making agreements to frack.
 
We know Origin didn’t get proper, informed consent. These agreements were made back in 2004 and 2005. At the time, our old people didn’t understand how many wells would be drilled, or the risks to our land and water from fracking.
 
Many Native Title holders were never consulted by Origin at all, even though they have a legal obligation to talk to them. Shareholders should be concerned about shoddy consultation practices with Traditional Owners that could spell the end of its fracking hopes.
 
The meeting takes place amidst concerns by pastoralists on stations where Origin have begun civil works last month.
 
Within weeks of its first project approval from the NT Government, owners of the NT’s Amungee Mungee cattle station took Origin to court alleging the company breached its land access contract, and failed to consult over risks from its fracking activity that could cause significant harm to pastoral businesses.
 
Locals had good reason to be concerned at Origin’s fracking plans.
 
We have just experienced one of the driest wet seasons on record, and now this monstrous fracking industry wants to come in, take our water, and pollute our aquifers.
 
Pastoralists have no veto rights over mining or exploration on their properties, and we want this to change.
 
We’ve recently learned that due to omissions in the NT water and petroleum acts, landholders face the very real threat of being held liable if a fracking company fouls an aquifer while conducting drilling on our land.
 
An overwhelming majority of Territorians remained opposed to fracking, as identified by the Pepper Inquiry.
 
The Pepper Inquiry’s recommendations have been watered down. For example, fracking companies are now allowed to store their waste water in open air ponds.
 
In the past, the industry has risked cross connecting aquifers and one of those aquifers is twice as salty as seawater, with over 1000 pounds PSI in it.
 
Once fracking companies gain access to our pastoral leases, our rights go out the window and we’re at the mercy of invasive industrial activity, and potential land and water contamination.
 
Ray Dimakarri Dixon, Daniel Tapp and Marylou Potts.
 
 
 

1 COMMENT

  1. With due respect and with no intention to insult, I must ask why should any company big or small, foreign or Australian owned, consult Aboriginal Australians about their intention to once again rape this once beautiful country?
    Anyhow there will be no objection and if there is a few dollars thrown in their direction should silence any objections.
    I do hope that there is some thought given by some about their responsibility to protection of their country.

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