Effectively there is a tax on all gas development now and an increased cost / schedule that will drive investment away from Australia (massive sovereign risk now) increase cost of living here and IMO net increase emissions as pushes us to needing to extend coal fired power.
There has been a "tax" if you want to call it that, on all gas development since the NTA was enacted in 1993. And in the NT since Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1975. Nothing new. And the "tax", or negotiated royalty rate varies between 0.5 and 2.5%. No gas development I'm aware of has been crippled, rendered un-profitable, by these costs of doing business, in fact quite the opposite. And I am aware of many, and all of those that I'm aware of, that are extremely profitable.
There is no "increased" cost. No gas development has been "driven away" by any payments of benefits to Traditional Landowners in petroleum agreements, never, not even close, not a whisker.
As for sovereign risk, total crap. As above, payments to TOs affecting profitability has never happened, not even close. How could it? It it did, the company would walk away at worst, re-negotiate at best. What Is true, and this is the source of these kind of myths, is that some costs are higher in Australia and approval requirements are more strict, depending on what you compare them too, but this is offset by the fact that there are huge government subsidies in the form on infrastructure, and unlike places like some African and South American countries and Russia, there is no sovereign risk of you project being nationalised or shut down by a warlord. THAT is what you call real sovereign risk.
These myths drive me mental. I thought you knew better RE,