TheHon. Courtney Houssos,I write to you in your role as the NSW...

TheHon. Courtney Houssos,

I write to you in your role as the NSW member of the Joint Authority under theOPGGS Act, to request that you provide a public update regarding the status of the PEP-11 applications.

As an investor, I am becoming increasingly alarmed as it appears that delay tactics are being employed by Labour to unfairly stall the PEP-11 project.

NOPTA confirmed in writing that their advice was provided to the relevant Joint Authority on 17 October 2023. NOPTA’s website also confirms that no further requests for information regarding PEP-11 have been made since that date, which indicates all the information required to make a decision has been in your possession now for over 9 months.

WhilstI understand that the Joint Authority is not obliged to accept NOPTA’s recommendations, it is worth noting that this is the second time that NOPTA has recommended that the PEP-11 applications be approved.

InFederal Parliament on 26 February 2024, Labour Senator for Queensland, MurrayWatt, said on behalf of the Minister for Resources that, “a future decision on PEP-11 will only be considered by the Australian government once the New South Wales government minister has considered NOPTA's advice and made a formal decision on PEP-11.”

This makes it very clear that the process cannot move forward without you formalising your decision.

In relation to relevant timeframes, Senator Watt said “I have no doubt that a decision will be made as soon as possible.”

Similarly, Jamie Tripodi, whom I understand is working as part of theJoint Authority for NSW, declared via email to a shareholder on the 27 March 2024. “I can assure you that this matter is progressing”. Yet that was over 4 months ago and still a decision hasn’t been made.

Recently the NSW Labour Government passed legislation banning offshore exploration and associated infrastructure in NSW waters(Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Sea Bed Mining andExploration) Bill 2024). This Bill was widely celebrated by a host of NSW MPs as heralding the death of PEP-11.

I am unsure whether you voted in support of this Bill, but since you are part of the NSW Labour Government, it would appear incongruent if you were to approve an extension of the PEP-11 title.

This begs the question, if your intention is to refuse the PEP-11 applications, then why is it taking so long for you to formalise your decision? That is, unless your objective is to delay the process, to prevent it from progressing to theCommonwealth JA in a timely manner?

Wilfully stalling this decision may place you in breach of your obligations under theJoint Authority, not to mention the obligations stipulated by the Federal Courtwhich oblige you to make your decision lawfully, fairly and within a reasonable timeframe.

I’m sure you are aware that the Federal Labour government recently released new offshore permits to address to the east coast gas shortage. On 23 July 2024,the Minister for Resources announced that she will finalise permits for Esso and Beach Energy in the Otway and Sorrell Basins, with any discovered gas to support the domestic east coast market.

In this same announcement Minister King also stated “The most recent ACCC GasInquiry Interim Report makes clear that the domestic east coast market may experience gas supply shortfalls as early as 2027. Supply challenges could persist into the mid-2030s unless new sources of gas supply are developed.”

MinisterKing’s statements come as no surprise as the same call for more supply was also echoed within the Australian Government’s Future Gas Strategy released in May which centred on six principles, one of which is that “New sources of gas supply are needed to meet demand during the economy-wide transition.”

It's a travesty that new offshore permits are being issued by the government specifically to address the east coast gas shortage, meanwhile the PEP-11decision languishes on your desk.

Your indecision and failure to act places shareholders in an untenable position. We have been held in limbo for over four years now, having endured financial losses and opportunity costs with each day that passes.

To add insult to injury, shareholders who were financially harmed and treated so contemptuously due to the Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s unprecedented meddling in the PEP-11 project are now expected to face yet another devastating financial blow. Because this decision has taken so long, shareholders options are set to expire at the end of September 2024, potentially costing the company and its shareholders millions of dollars.

I wish to remind you that I am an ordinary, hard-working Australian investor inan Australian owned company with bills to pay and a family to support. Investments like mine enable other Australians the luxury of being able to stay warm in winter and ensure that our manufacturing businesses can continue to operate.

I have committed my hard-earned funds based on a level of trust in the Australian regulatory regime and with a reasonable expectation of decisions being made and handled in a fair and consistent manner, yet my experience as a PEP-11shareholder makes a mockery of any notion of fairness in the process.

I’ve witnessed unprecedented meddling, the malicious spreading of misinformation, the destruction of my shareholdings, politics being played on both sides, yet no one seems to care about the harm being inflicted upon the shareholders, which is unacceptable.

Tore-iterate my position, I do not write seeking your support of the PEP-11applications, I only write to request that you provide a public update with timelines to your decision as soon as possible. Or, better still, can you please finalise the decision to allow the process to continue in a fair and just manner, in accordance with the law.

Yours sincerely,

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