Northern Territory data centres will have to use renewable energy as their primary source of power or will not proceed, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Wednesday, adding natural gas will only be used as a backup and that he will invoke all Federal Government powers available to enforce the new rules.
Japanese gas company Inpex has been charged by the NT Environmental Protection Authority over alleged under-reporting of emissions from its Ichthys LNG facility in Darwin, which an independent review found had been “systematically underestimated”.
Native title holders have had a victory in the High Court against the NT Government’s decision to grant Singleton Station a massive water licence that would allow 40,000 megalitres a year to be drawn for an intensive horticulture business, with the court ruling today that the water licence had not been lawfully granted.
The NT Environment Department reversed its initial assessment that land clearing at Claravale Station could significantly impact a threatened species, later finding the proposal was unlikely to have a significant impact because of newly proposed buffer zones, despite the property owner refusing to carry out surveys the department said were needed, documents released under FOI laws show.
A motion before Darwin Council calling on the NT Government to introduce a new tax on Territory Day fireworks has the support of the Mayor and at least one councillor who want to use the additional revenue to cover clean-up costs the day after cracker night, but the Chief Minister is not sold on the idea.
An estimated 100 Charles Darwin University students in the electrotechnology program have not been properly trained, Education and Training Minister Jo Hersey revealed in Parliament Thursday afternoon, which follows CDU’s TAFE carpentry training scandal earlier this year that saw hundreds forced to redo their qualifications.
Beetaloo Digital, a subsidiary of Beetaloo Energy, has been given a commitment by the NT Government for 185 hectares of land at Weddell to develop a claimed $40 billion, two gigawatt AI data centre and energy mega-campus, which critics say is the latest glimpse of the Territory’s “dystopian future”, while the government has refused to explain if it has a plan for managing data centre development.
A forklift incident at the Katherine Woolworths that resulted in serious injuries to a motorcycle rider has led NT WorkSafe to charge the supermarket giant with various work health breaches that could see it hit with a maximum penalty of $4.5 million.
Trade and Business Minister Robyn Cahill’s claim that the Earth’s poles can flip during periods of heavy rainfall in the Northern Territory and that the water causes the Earth’s axis to shift is incorrect and shows she has a “very poor and terrible understanding” of how hydrology works, a leading expert in satellite hydrology says.
Gas from the Beetaloo Basin could position the NT as the “data centre capital of the globe”, Trade and Business Minister Robyn Cahill said ahead of the NT Investment Summit in Darwin on Wednesday, which came hours before the Prime Minister said in a speech that his government will establish national rules around minimising water use and forcing data centres to fund their own power supply.
Wagiman traditional owners have launched a Federal Court challenge against federal Environment Minister Murray Watt’s decision not to require an environmental assessment of Top End Pastoral Company’s plan to clear land on Claravale Station, court records show.
Business News: The latest highlights include the Territory hosting 160 business leaders at the NT Investment Summit, Santos launching a $3 million program to create jobs for Indigenous Territorians, Beckons expanding its luxurious offerings in Uluru, as well as APA expanding a key link for future gas supply, plus more.
