THE Chair of a Territory Aboriginal Corporation has highlighted Traditional Owners’ concerns about a major blaze from Jemena’s gas pipeline in Queensland, cutting gas to Gladstone.

Chair of Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Djingili Elder Samuel Sandy (pictured above), a former resident of Elliott, said if an event like that happened in the NT it would be a catastrophe, given the major bushfires across the region last September.

Tamboran Resources and Empire Energy have plans to build pipelines to sell fracked gas retrieved from their proposed exploration sites in the NT’s Beetaloo Basin.

“In the dry we have strong winds that blow across the Territory from south east of the Barkly tableland. The mix of spinifex, highly flammable gum trees and speargrass could turn a similar event into a catastrophe,” he said.

“With climate change the risks are getting higher. In the dry last year, the fires in the Barkly were terrible; we’d never seen anything like it.

“We’ve seen grass plants burn for miles and miles, for three to four months at a time.

“If Tamboran and Empire get to build their new pipelines, they’re going to put countrymen, cattle stations, plants and animals at risk.” 

The Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation includes native title holders from the Amungee Mungee, Beetaloo, Hayfield, Kalala, Newcastle Waters - Murranji, Nutwood Downs, Shenandoah, Tandyidgee, Tanumbirini, Daly Waters Township, Ucharonidge native title determinations.

The Beetaloo sub-basin is located around 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin. 

It embraces Aboriginal land, pastoral leases (which co-exist with Native Title rights and interests), horticultural enterprises, cattle stations and remote Aboriginal communities. 

A number of companies are currently undertaking fracked gas drilling in the region, with most of the NT covered by exploration permits.