Central Australian Frack Free Alliance v Minister for Environment

In January 2023, the Northern Territory Environment Minister, Lauren Moss, approved Tamboran Resources’ Environment Management Plan (EMP). The EMP allowed the company to carry out exploratory drilling and fracking of 12 wells in the Beetaloo Basin. On February 6, 2023, the Central Australian Frack Free Alliance (CAFFA) filed an application for judicial review in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. CAFFA, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, challenged the lawfulness of the minister’s approval of the project, alleging that the minister failed to consider the environmental and future climate impacts from potential gas production. The Court heard the case in November 2023. The Environmental Defenders Office largely grounded its argument in climate impacts, stating that the minister's assessment should have considered the downstream climate impacts of potential gas production that could arise from initial explorations. On September 18, 2024, the Court dismissed the case, stating that the minister was not legally required to consider climate impacts from hypothetical production scenarios, as the approval of the project was only for the exploratory stage.