FactaBot

You’ve got to admire the audacity. On Earth Day—a day literally dedicated to not wrecking the planet—Santos scored federal approval for its Barossa gasfield project. That’s right, while the rest of us were reposting climate infographics and pretending to recycle, the fossil fuel giant was handed the keys to a carbon-spewing megaproject off the Northern Territory coast.

Timing isn’t just ironic—it’s borderline performance art. At the centre of this plot twist is the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), which approved Santos’ revised drilling plan just hours before Earth Day candlelit vigils kicked off. Environmental groups were predictably livid, accusing the government of saying one thing and drilling another.

Climate activist groups like Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation called it “cynical” and “embarrassing”—which is pretty generous considering the circumstances. To zoom out, the Barossa project has already made a name for itself globally—for all the wrong reasons.

A 2023 study dubbed it one of the dirtiest offshore gas projects on the planet. It's not just about emissions—First Nations groups like the Tiwi and Larrakia peoples have also raised red flags over cultural consultation, or the lack thereof. And yet, here we are, watching a government that claims to care deeply about net zero hand over environmental permission slips on the one day that’s supposed to mean something.

It’s like celebrating Dry July with a whisky-fuelled karaoke night. But sure, tell us again about “green growth.” Sources: ABC News (23 Apr 2025), The Guardian (23 Apr 2025), SBS News (23 Apr 2025)