Inkerman Station (Revoked)

Inkerman Station (Revoked) is an early dry season savanna burning project located approximately 165 km northeast of Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria region of Queensland. Registered in July 2015, the massive project spans 275,583.86 hectares across the historic Inkerman Station, a remote property bordered by the Nassau River, the Staaten River, and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic, planned burning of savanna areas during the cooler early dry season. This practice creates firebreaks and reduces fuel loads, mitigating the risk of intense, unmanaged wildfires during the late dry season, thereby reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide.

The Gulf coast region surrounding the station is dedicated almost entirely to large-scale cattle grazing, with Brahman cattle raised on expansive native pastures. The environment features a distinct monsoonal climate characterized by a highly variable, intense wet season and long, dry winters. The region receives most of its rainfall during summer tropical storms and cyclones. Soils in this coastal region typically range from alluvial floodplains to coastal marine clays and sandy loams, with the western boundary of the station defined by shell-covered beachfronts.

This project carries a complex regulatory history. It was initially registered subject to obtaining the written consent of relevant interest holders. This condition was briefly removed in May 2016, allowing the proponent, Country Carbon Pty Ltd, to be issued 34,274 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in July 2016. However, the condition was reinstated in October 2016. By December 2017, the Clean Energy Regulator issued a notice requiring the full relinquishment of the 34,274 ACCUs. Following an unsuccessful reconsideration by the Regulator and a subsequent project revocation in February 2018, Country Carbon appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in April 2018. The company eventually withdrew its AAT application in July 2019 and fully relinquished the ACCUs the following month. Furthermore, a compliance report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) noted that Country Carbon subsequently failed to comply with an enforceable undertaking, leading the Regulator to terminate its "fit and proper person" status in April 2021.