The Senate Inquiry into the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct handed down its final report today, issuing a damning indictment of the project, its impacts, and the integrity of its implementation.
The Middle Arm Industrial Precinct has been plagued by controversy ever since the announcement of $1.5 billion in Commonwealth Government equity support for the project.
Hundreds of Territorians gathered in April when the Middle Arm Senate Inquiry convened in Darwin. Traditional Owners, scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers and unions gave evidence regarding the potential impacts of the project to cultural heritage, the environment of Darwin Harbour, human health, and climate.
Today, those concerns have been vindicated by many of the recommendations issued by the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Senator David Pocock has called for an investigation into the circumstances in which the $1.5 billion Federal funding commitment was obtained, pointing to “significant questions around integrity and transparency” and evidence that the commitment was made without evidence of “clear value for money and without a proper evaluation of the significant risks.” Similarly, the Greens have asserted that the Federal decision to subsidise the project was “was based purely on pork-barrelling and dodgy deals and not the best interests of the local community or the planet.”
- The Greens expressed serious concern about the health impacts of the proposed project, noting that NT regulators “cannot be relied upon to enforce safety regulations to protect the health of the Darwin community”. Senator Pocock also asserted that “the NT’s health system cannot cope with any worsening of health or conditions for residents of the NT,” and that evidence that the project “would not have an adverse impact on the health of Darwin residents was thin”.
- Senator Lidia Thorpe found that “there has been a real lack of genuine consultation and a disregard for the need to obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent”. This sentiment was echoed by the Greens and Senator Pocock, who both made recommendations to ensure free, prior, and informed consent is central to any future development at the Middle Arm peninsula.
Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of the Environment Centre NT says:
“The Middle Arm gas hub simply cannot proceed, based on what was revealed in this inquiry and what has now been recommended in its report.
“This report confirms what the community has been saying for a long time — the Middle Arm gas hub poses unacceptable risks to the wellbeing of Territorians, our climate, and our harbour.
“The shocking information revealed by the inquiry should make it clear to the Federal Government that their $1.5 billion subsidy must be redirected away from the Middle Arm gas hub. Evidence submitted to the Inquiry showed that we can spend this money here in the NT in a way that doesn’t sacrifice people’s wellbeing and will actually create more sustainable jobs.”
