I have emailed this to MK's office.The Hon Madeleine King,Could...

I have emailed this to MK's office.



The Hon Madeleine King,

Could you please advise if you are still the final decision-maker for the PEP-11 licenses or if you have delegated this role to someone else?

I am an investor and I'm getting increasingly concerned that the delay tactics being employed by Labour may be beginning to mirror those of the previous government. I have been in touch with NOPTA via email and NOPTA confirmed in writing that their advice was provided to the relevant Joint Authority on 17 October 2023. When I asked NOPTA to confirm who the final decision-maker for the PEP-11 license currently is, they said "NOPTA is not involved in the Joint Authority decision making arrangements and therefore cannot comment on the matter.”

I replied emphasising that I was not asking for sensitive details about the decision making arrangements but that I am merely asking who the “ current relevant decision makers” are as a matter of transparency and accountability. NOPTA then referred me to their website for information on the relevant decision makers, which was not helpful.

The last time I sent an email to a Minister, was when I sent one to the previous Resources Minister, Keith Pitt, (as did countless other fellow investors and supporters of the PEP-11 project) upon the understanding that he was the final decision-maker. In fact, an email from a fellow investor was presented in Virginia Bell's Report which showed Keith Pitt's office confirming that he was still the final decision-maker when subsequent events proved that this was categorically and manifestly FALSE.

It's this distinct lack of accountability and transparency that led to the whole secret ministries debacle to begin with, which was a complete and utter travesty and which in turn caused considerable financial injury to myself and to other fellow investors.

You made a statement last week on NBN news in which you purportedly stated “Applications with PEP-11 are currently under assessment by departmental officials and are going through appropriate official processes”. Can you please explain who the “department officials” are that are assessing the applications? And can you please confirm if this follows due process, as I thought it was NOPTA’s role to conduct the assessment process, not an unregulated entity? Can you also explain why this supposed assessment is taking so long when NOPTA provided it's advice all the way back on 17 October 2023? How can such a delay be justified? Or is the delay due to an attempt by Federal Labour to have the proposed NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Sea Bed Mining and Exploration) Bill 2024 passed in order to derail the PEP-11project yet again?

Investors have committed funds based on a level of trust in the Australian regulatory regime and with a reasonable expectation of approvals being handled in a fair and consistent manner. I hope that your response to me will give me the confidence to believe that Australia is still a safe place to invest in for major projects. Confirming whether you are still the final decision-maker would be a good place to start.

Kind regards