The New South Wales (NSW) government will override a court order to open up gas drilling along the state’s coastline if it wins the upcoming March election.
Energy Minister and Treasurer Matt Kean described the move as standing “up for the environment.”
The announcement comes after the Federal Court of Australia quashed a decision by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison to block the extension of the PEP-11 permit, which would reopen the door for gas drilling along a stretch of NSW coastline between Wollongong, Sydney, and Newcastle—major population centres.
The court’s ruling returns the decision-making power—of whether the 8,200 square kilometre area can be drilled—back to the NSW and federal government and the holder of PEP-11, Asset Energy….