Situation with the equatorial Equatorial Launch Australia no longer moving ahead here in the Northern Territory is a blow, no matter how you want to look at it. Joining us on the line to talk a little bit more about the situation is Matt Cunningham, Sky News Bureau Chief for the Northern Territory. Good morning, Matt, Good morning you mate. This situation with Equatorial Launch Australia is no matter how you look at it, it seems like we cannot get a major project off the ground in the Northern Territory.

Situation with the equatorial Equatorial Launch Australia no longer moving ahead here in the Northern Territory is a blow, no matter how you want to look at it. Joining us on the line to talk a little bit more about the situation is Matt Cunningham, Sky News Bureau Chief for the Northern Territory. Good morning, Matt, Good morning you mate. This situation with Equatorial Launch Australia is no matter how you look at it, it seems like we cannot get a major project off the ground in the Northern Territory.

Does yes, Oh well, you know maybe because you look at what are the amphibious airplanes and then you've got the rockets and the prawn farm and these other things. We think to pump a lot of time and effort into these ones, and our politicians do a lot of talking about it, and then you think about it much. How often did you hear, you know, Michael Dunner or a Natasha file talk about rockets from artam Land And I think it was a good thing, and it was a good thing to try or talk about amphibious airplanes or talk about some cable things that are either not happening struggling to happen now I could put or never going to happen projects maybe well, I mean this space base was actually built and did fire three rockets back in twenty twenty two, so you know, to be fair, something did happen and they're now shifting to Queensland. But obviously there's been a bit of a dispute between ELA and the Northern Land Council. Now Equatory will Launch Australia when it sort of came out and said that it was packing up, pulling up stumps, basically tried to put all of the blame onto the Northern Land Council and so that it had it had delayed in issuing the head lease for the extension of the space base out there. I've seen some correspondents that were sent over quite a period of time, and I don't think I don't think LA is the completely innocent party in all of this, right. I think that the correspondence I've seen is certainly from the Northern Land Council saying to LA, how you need to give us this, you need to show us that you need to get something of this, and that they were saying to Equatorial Launch Astralia you know, we can't give you a leaf until you've ticked off these things, and it appeared that there was some delay at ELA's end about picking off some of those things. So yeah, yeah, right, MASTI. And complicated situation of at all is that the space space is going to Queensland.

Does yes, Oh well, you know maybe because you look at what are the amphibious airplanes and then you've got the rockets and the prawn farm and these other things. We think to pump a lot of time and effort into these ones, and our politicians do a lot of talking about it, and then you think about it much. How often did you hear, you know, Michael Dunner or a Natasha file talk about rockets from artam Land And I think it was a good thing, and it was a good thing to try or talk about amphibious airplanes or talk about some cable things that are either not happening struggling to happen now I could put or never going to happen projects maybe well, I mean this space base was actually built and did fire three rockets back in twenty twenty two, so you know, to be fair, something did happen and they're now shifting to Queensland. But obviously there's been a bit of a dispute between ELA and the Northern Land Council. Now Equatory will Launch Australia when it sort of came out and said that it was packing up, pulling up stumps, basically tried to put all of the blame onto the Northern Land Council and so that it had it had delayed in issuing the head lease for the extension of the space base out there. I've seen some correspondents that were sent over quite a period of time, and I don't think I don't think LA is the completely innocent party in all of this, right. I think that the correspondence I've seen is certainly from the Northern Land Council saying to LA, how you need to give us this, you need to show us that you need to get something of this, and that they were saying to Equatorial Launch Astralia you know, we can't give you a leaf until you've ticked off these things, and it appeared that there was some delay at ELA's end about picking off some of those things. So yeah, yeah, right, MASTI. And complicated situation of at all is that the space space is going to Queensland.

Well that's exactly right, and going to Weeper, where potentially it's going to mean jobs, an opportunity for people in Weeper, you know, I will, no doubt it will, and a boost of their economy. And like you say, it's hard to know exactly what's going on here, but what we know is that it's no longer happening in the Northern Territory. I mean, I would imagine that it's going to be quite a blow. I would you would think to that area of the Northern Territory to arnam Land, Well.

Well that's exactly right, and going to Weeper, where potentially it's going to mean jobs, an opportunity for people in Weeper, you know, I will, no doubt it will, and a boost of their economy. And like you say, it's hard to know exactly what's going on here, but what we know is that it's no longer happening in the Northern Territory. I mean, I would imagine that it's going to be quite a blow. I would you would think to that area of the Northern Territory to arnam Land, Well.

It will be a blow at some level, I think. I mean I'm going from memory and off the top of my head here though, but I think the number of younger people, for instance, employed in the space base might have been fifteen or twenty, and I think they employ more than one hundred across their other businesses, including the mine and you know, in the mill and a concrete batching plant and all the other things they've got going out there. So I think it's one small piece of the puzzle in terms of what the Gormas do out there. As far as employing local Aboriginal people. There would have been no doubt an economic benefit when they had that launch back in twenty twenty two, and if they had been able to have launches on the regular, but since I think Ela was talking about fifty or sixty launches a year at one stage, if they expanded, then yes, there would have been that economic benefit. But clearly, you know, they weren't able to get done what they needed to get done to make that happen.

It will be a blow at some level, I think. I mean I'm going from memory and off the top of my head here though, but I think the number of younger people, for instance, employed in the space base might have been fifteen or twenty, and I think they employ more than one hundred across their other businesses, including the mine and you know, in the mill and a concrete batching plant and all the other things they've got going out there. So I think it's one small piece of the puzzle in terms of what the Gormas do out there. As far as employing local Aboriginal people. There would have been no doubt an economic benefit when they had that launch back in twenty twenty two, and if they had been able to have launches on the regular, but since I think Ela was talking about fifty or sixty launches a year at one stage, if they expanded, then yes, there would have been that economic benefit. But clearly, you know, they weren't able to get done what they needed to get done to make that happen.

It does sort of make your question as well, though, Matte, you know what like over the last few years, and not to sort of you know, kick the boot into the former government, but you sort of go, you know, like there there's been a lot of talk about jobs, jobs, jobs, and you know, these different projects and we like now we're sort of, you know, each project just kind of seems to be coming up with different issues and not happening.

It does sort of make your question as well, though, Matte, you know what like over the last few years, and not to sort of you know, kick the boot into the former government, but you sort of go, you know, like there there's been a lot of talk about jobs, jobs, jobs, and you know, these different projects and we like now we're sort of, you know, each project just kind of seems to be coming up with different issues and not happening.

Yeah, and there are all sorts of hurdles that are put in place by others as well. I mean, you look at the Santos Varosa project. Now we should start to see gas from that next year, Katie. But I mean, look at the legal challenges that we were placed in front of that project, and how much it has been held up as a consequence, humably, the extra cost associated with it as a consequence, even after the federal court awarded nine million dollars in costs to Santos, largely because of the actions of the Environmental Defender's Office. But you know, you're right. I mean, I don't know. I sort of feel like, and I said this before there was even a change of government. I feel like we're on the precipices of a shift. You and I were both here during the Impets boom, and I remember that time as just Darling being the most happening place. Things were being built everywhere, you know, the city was always pumping. There were people everywhere. The biggest issue that we had in dah and you know, if you go back to twenty ten twenty eleven, was that no one could afford to buy a house because we had the most expensive house prices in the country. It's hard to believe now because now we've got the cheapest houses in the country because the economy has been in the Dolgens for a decade. But I think with Barossa coming on board, the potential that the Beterloo will start producing next year, you know, the ramping up a defense spending, et cetera, et cetera. I sort of, you know, this might be a triumph of hope over reality, but I do feel like there is an economic corner that we are about to turn, and hopefully, you know, some of these other projects you know that are on the cards can get off the ground. This one, this one, You're right about it being a blow and economic glow to that region. I think there's real concerns about what happens in Norman Boy once Rio packs up on Lee's town. You know, we've seen in Jabaru. You know, obviously there are teos out there and the mirror trying very hard to make things happen with tourism and other things now that the range of mine has closed down. But there's a challenge because Javaru has essentially been a mining town, and when there's no mine, it's hard to have a mining town and all of the infrastructure and the economic benefits that that brings. And I think Norman Boy is going to face a similar challenge. You know, however, Commonty is five years or so it takes to wind up operations there. I think that's going to be a huge challenge for the Northern Territory government. What happens to that place because it is such an important town in that region, and what happens in norman Boy once the mind closes and having Ela move out, of course doesn't help.

Yeah, and there are all sorts of hurdles that are put in place by others as well. I mean, you look at the Santos Varosa project. Now we should start to see gas from that next year, Katie. But I mean, look at the legal challenges that we were placed in front of that project, and how much it has been held up as a consequence, humably, the extra cost associated with it as a consequence, even after the federal court awarded nine million dollars in costs to Santos, largely because of the actions of the Environmental Defender's Office. But you know, you're right. I mean, I don't know. I sort of feel like, and I said this before there was even a change of government. I feel like we're on the precipices of a shift. You and I were both here during the Impets boom, and I remember that time as just Darling being the most happening place. Things were being built everywhere, you know, the city was always pumping. There were people everywhere. The biggest issue that we had in dah and you know, if you go back to twenty ten twenty eleven, was that no one could afford to buy a house because we had the most expensive house prices in the country. It's hard to believe now because now we've got the cheapest houses in the country because the economy has been in the Dolgens for a decade. But I think with Barossa coming on board, the potential that the Beterloo will start producing next year, you know, the ramping up a defense spending, et cetera, et cetera. I sort of, you know, this might be a triumph of hope over reality, but I do feel like there is an economic corner that we are about to turn, and hopefully, you know, some of these other projects you know that are on the cards can get off the ground. This one, this one, You're right about it being a blow and economic glow to that region. I think there's real concerns about what happens in Norman Boy once Rio packs up on Lee's town. You know, we've seen in Jabaru. You know, obviously there are teos out there and the mirror trying very hard to make things happen with tourism and other things now that the range of mine has closed down. But there's a challenge because Javaru has essentially been a mining town, and when there's no mine, it's hard to have a mining town and all of the infrastructure and the economic benefits that that brings. And I think Norman Boy is going to face a similar challenge. You know, however, Commonty is five years or so it takes to wind up operations there. I think that's going to be a huge challenge for the Northern Territory government. What happens to that place because it is such an important town in that region, and what happens in norman Boy once the mind closes and having Ela move out, of course doesn't help.

It's a very very good point. And you know, as a girl who grew up in mounta Eisa, I've seen that at different times when the mine there has sort of ebbed and flowed in different areas have closed down, and you know, you go from having ten football teams competing, you know in your A grade men's to having three things like that. You know, it has a huge impact on communities in so many different ways, not just economically but socially as well. And moving there has to be other projects getting up and running. And I know some people don't light the idea of mining in different locations around the Northern Territory, but the fact is, you know, you need resources. We all, you know we're going to need gas. We all want to be renewable as well. To go on another tangent. But we but we actually we're not there yet. So there are different areas that the Northern Territory could be doing incredibly well when you talk about our resources, but we just sort of we haven't been able to get there in recent years.

It's a very very good point. And you know, as a girl who grew up in mounta Eisa, I've seen that at different times when the mine there has sort of ebbed and flowed in different areas have closed down, and you know, you go from having ten football teams competing, you know in your A grade men's to having three things like that. You know, it has a huge impact on communities in so many different ways, not just economically but socially as well. And moving there has to be other projects getting up and running. And I know some people don't light the idea of mining in different locations around the Northern Territory, but the fact is, you know, you need resources. We all, you know we're going to need gas. We all want to be renewable as well. To go on another tangent. But we but we actually we're not there yet. So there are different areas that the Northern Territory could be doing incredibly well when you talk about our resources, but we just sort of we haven't been able to get there in recent years.

No, we haven't. And you know, hopefully, as I said, hopefully that's that's changing. I mean there's a lot of work going into the Beloo. Of course, there was there was a two year moratorium that you know a lot of people have questioned as the weather, you know, that was necessary, whether it held things up or not. But I guess that's water under the bridge now and the Beaterloo does seem to be close to to you know, seeing something actually happening as far as gas production out there. Interesting to see in the ant News on Monday, Santos saying that they're looking at the Bealoo again, which is which is a huge shift from only six months or so ago when Kevin Gallagher was speaking at a mining club lunch and daw and then he basically said that that Santos was not did not have the Beadloo on its radar at all at that stage simply because of the regulations and the hurdles that need to be jumped over to make a project like that happen. So there has been obviously a shift in santos Is thinking when it comes to the Beloo. You know, we saw the transformation of this city when in Text came along and Darwin L and G before that, Katie, and it's been a boom and bust city and unfortunately we've been in a bus for a long time now, so hopefully there's a boom just around the corner.

No, we haven't. And you know, hopefully, as I said, hopefully that's that's changing. I mean there's a lot of work going into the Beloo. Of course, there was there was a two year moratorium that you know a lot of people have questioned as the weather, you know, that was necessary, whether it held things up or not. But I guess that's water under the bridge now and the Beaterloo does seem to be close to to you know, seeing something actually happening as far as gas production out there. Interesting to see in the ant News on Monday, Santos saying that they're looking at the Bealoo again, which is which is a huge shift from only six months or so ago when Kevin Gallagher was speaking at a mining club lunch and daw and then he basically said that that Santos was not did not have the Beadloo on its radar at all at that stage simply because of the regulations and the hurdles that need to be jumped over to make a project like that happen. So there has been obviously a shift in santos Is thinking when it comes to the Beloo. You know, we saw the transformation of this city when in Text came along and Darwin L and G before that, Katie, and it's been a boom and bust city and unfortunately we've been in a bus for a long time now, so hopefully there's a boom just around the corner.

We can only hope. Well, Mat, I hope not. Matt Cunningham. Always good to catch up mate. We'll talk to you again very soon.

We can only hope. Well, Mat, I hope not. Matt Cunningham. Always good to catch up mate. We'll talk to you again very soon.

Thanks Katie, thank you.

Thanks Katie, thank you.