Pastoralist company to join forces with Beetaloo Basin traditional owners to resist gas exploration

The former Morrison government made gas exploration in the Beetaloo a central pillar of its so-called gas-led recovery from the pandemic, accelerating exploration in the region by granting big gas companies tens of millions of dollars in incentives.

The Langenhoven-Ravazzotti families have spent more than $200m buying six cattle stations covering more than 1.1m hectares in the Northern Territory in the past four years.

That includes Tanumbirini and Forrest Hill stations, which together cover a staggering 560,000 hectares, as well as the 376,000 hectare Kalala Station, the 80,900ha McMinn Station, and the 70,700ha Big River Station.

The situation in the Beetaloo shapes as an early test for the new Labor government on climate action.