'Zero return': government savaged over taxpayer grants to open up new gas basin in Australia

Coalition funding for gas exploration in Northern Territory labelled a costly plan ‘for a climate catastrophe’

The Morrison government has been accused of embarking on an “expensive plan for a climate catastrophe” after it announced it would pay the gas industry up to $50m to speed up exploration in the Northern Territory.

The commitment, revealed on Thursday, also prompted warnings that taxpayers’ money could flow offshore to companies linked to tax havens and a Russian oligarch.

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