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The final report into hydraulic fracturing in the Northern Territory has been delayed by three months, after an Indigenous community in the resource-rich Beetaloo Basin was "pushed" to consider the benefits of fracking during a community consultation.
In August, residents in the remote community of Elliot, 700km south of Darwin, recorded a consultation session in which they were repeatedly asked to consider asking for new houses, a cattle station, cultural centre and supermarket.
In the recording, a senior consultant told residents to consider the benefits because the industry was "not going away".
In response, the fracking inquiry expressed its "utmost dismay and concern" at the "unacceptable conduct" of the Northern Territory-based consultancy firm, Cross Cultural Consultants (CCC).
A statement from the head of the inquiry, Justice Rachel Pepper, said that as a result of the incident, a section of the social impact assessment would be re-done by a new organisation, Indigenous Agreement Solutions (IAS).
Ms Pepper said that as result of the appointment, the final report could not be published until March 2018.
"It is particularly important to provide an opportunity for those communities in and around the Beetaloo sub-basin area to be heard on the social and cultural impacts that any potential development of onshore shale gas resources may have," Justice Pepper said.
"I have been advised... that IAS is an experienced consulting firm and come highly regarded as a result of its work with Indigenous communities in other jurisdictions."
Under the new consultations, head contractor Coffey Services Australia and new consultancy firm IAS will attend all of the communities CCC had previously consulted directly with, including Katherine, Mataranka, Daly Waters, Elliott, Newcastle Waters, Tennant Creek, Borroloola, Robinson River, Ngukurr and Minyerri.
IAS will begin preparatory meetings in these communities at the end of November, with community consultation as part of the social impact assessment starting in December.
Who are the contactors?
The fracking inquiry hired Coffey, a geotechnical engineering firm, to conduct its social impact assessment.
Coffey engaged consultancy firm CCC to go out to communities and talk about the fracking inquiry.
On their website, CCC states that it has been operating since 1989, and works to deliver culturally appropriate consultation to Indigenous communities on behalf of mining, construction, oil and gas companies, as well as not-for-profit community and Indigenous organisations.
Following an investigation, Coffey appointed IAS to undertake the new consultations.
Delay 'unnecessary'
The industry body representing oil and gas companies believes the delay on the fracking inquiry's report jeopardises jobs and investment in the Northern Territory.
Matt Doman, Northern Territory director of the Australian Petroleum Production Association said it was difficult to see why a small part of the inquiry was now being used to drag it out by another three months.
"This issue was brought to the inquiry's attention in August, there only seemed to be a reaction when a report was aired on the ABC... and now in November it's being used to justify this protracted delay," he said.
"This scientific inquiry, which comes on top of the previous Hawke inquiry in the Northern Territory and on the top of many other inquiries that have been conducted around Australia and around the world, is now taking at least 15 months to conclude.
"If there is to be any significant investment in 2018, we need to be planning it now.
"The delay until March next year makes it virtually impossible."
Topics: oil-and-gas, industry, business-economics-and-finance, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, states-and-territories, nt, elliott-0862
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