CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has reversed its two-year ban on hydraulic fracturing of onshore gas that will open up more than half of the territory's land mass - roughly 700,000 sq km - to the practice.
The issue has sharply divided territorians, many of whom believe fracking threatens water supplies, but Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Tuesday strict new laws would ensure the environment is not harmed and that the industry would create many new jobs.
The long-anticipated decision means exploration activity could potentially occur from the start of the 2019 dry season; the remaining 49 percent of the territory not earmarked for fracking, including towns and conservation areas, will be made permanently off-limits.
The NT decision, which will provide more gas to the east coast of Australia, follows a 5.1-million-AU dollar (3.9 million U.S. dollars), 15-month inquiry commissioned by the NT Labor Party shortly after it won power from the Country Liberal Party in 2016.
Gunner said his government had adopted the inquiry's "key finding" that if its recommendations were implemented fully, then the risks from fracking could be "reduced to acceptable levels."
"Forty-nine percent of the Territory will be 'frack-free,' including in national parks, conservation areas, Indigenous protected areas, towns, residential and strategic assets, and areas of high cultural, environmental or tourism value," Gunner said on Tuesday.
"We promised an independent, scientific inquiry after which we would either ban fracking or allow it in highly regulated circumstances in tightly prescribed areas.
"We have kept our promise. We have accepted the key finding of the report - that if all the recommendations are implemented, the risk from fracking can be reduced to an acceptable level."
Federal Minister for Energy Josh Frydenberg, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan and Senator for Northern Territory Nigel Scullion issued a joint statement, welcoming on behalf of the Federal Government the NT government decision.
The statement said that Geoscience Australia estimates that the Northern Territory has 257,276 PJ of prospective shale gas resources, equivalent to over 200 years of east coast domestic demand.
"The development of these gas resources could alleviate some of the pressure on the east coast gas market, helping to put downward pressure on prices," Frydenberg said.
Canavan said the decision to lift the moratorium will be a boost to jobs and the economy.
Yet academics and commentators around the country were not convinced by the government's arguments, saying the practice of fracking still carried unknown environmental risks.
Gavin Mudd, associate professor of the School of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering at RMIT University, said in a statement on Tuesday: "Fracking deserves to be controversial due to the fact it will increase greenhouse gas emissions and poses significant risks to be managed during the exploration and development phases. Whilst the inquiry has acknowledged these risks, the NT government has not."
Jennifer McKay, a professor from the School of Law at the University of South Australia, said government needed to proceed warily and carefully monitor the environmental impact of fracking.
The independent Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the NT made 135 recommendations in total, including one that controversially proposed recognising sacred sites underground.
Gunner said at least 30 of those recommendations would have to be implemented before any exploration activity could resume, a process likely to take more than six months.
Most of the initial work is likely to focus on the Beetaloo Basin east of Katherine, where several gas companies have been eager to resume the development of promising plays.
