The Finocchiaro Government has announced it will monitor air pollutants from gas production in Darwin for the first time, which follows a 2023 review that found Inpex had “systematically underestimated” emissions from its Darwin LNG project for years, while a Darwin paediatrician welcomed the move but said it was concerning the pollutants had never previously been monitored.

Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne said the government would introduce the Environment Legislation Amendment (Air Quality Protection and Monitoring) Bill to Parliament later this year, which would require the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority to monitor industrial pollutants linked to hydrocarbon processing facilities, including benzene, and publish the results on its website in real time.

He said the network currently only measures common air pollutants, mainly from transport, dust and bushfire smoke.

“Industrial activity is vital to economic growth and jobs, but maintaining public confidence requires transparent monitoring and reporting of industrial emissions and pollutants,” Mr Burgoyne said.

“That’s why our government is proposing changes to develop an improved monitoring program, which will provide the community with greater certainty and evidence-based communication about air quality in real time.”

“What is really important is we are ensuring Territorians do not foot the bill for this program or associated costs such as new air quality monitoring stations that may be established or upgrades to existing stations.

“This will be cost recovered from industry.”

The ABC had previously reported that in 2023-24, Inpex self-reported 4 tonnes of benzene emissions, but later revised it to more than 500 tonnes, which is an increase of more than 13,000 per cent.

The national broadcaster reported that the NTEPA commissioned independent consultants Air Environment to review the matter, with the review finding serious failures in how emissions were recorded, calculated and reported dating back to the start of gas production in 2018.

Darwin paediatrician Louise Woodward told the ABC that volunteers were already monitoring air quality and hoped the Community Healthy Air NT project could work alongside the NTEPA.

“It was really concerning for me and our group that the government was not measuring these pollutants,” Ms Woodward was quoted as saying.

“We will be able to go to urban areas where people live and work, where their children play, and be able to measure these pollutants in the air where people are.

“We will be able to detect what direction the pollution is coming from and we will be able to report that to the government.

“I’d like to congratulate the government on doing this, better late than never.

“This is a really good development.”

In 2023, Dr Woodward was among a group of parents and doctors who travelled to Canberra to call on the Federal Government to stop fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and pull its $1.5 billion commitment to the Middle Arm industrial precinct on Darwin Harbour.

Earlier that year, she also drafted a letter signed by almost 50 NT paediatricians calling on the NT Government to withdraw its support for fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.