The Senate inquiry into the Middle Arm industrial precinct will will hold public hearings in Darwin starting tomorrow, with the inquiry aiming to investigate the $1.5 billion in federal funding for the gas and manufacturing hub, the environmental impacts of the proposal as well as who is benefiting from the project.
The inquiry will hold three public roundtable discussions in Darwin on Wednesday with affected parties, including Larakia nation and the wider “Northern Territory community”, followed by a full day of testimony on Thursday.
The inquiry will hear from Chief Minister Eva Lawler and other NT Government officials, including Infrastructure Commissioner Louise McCormick and NT gas taskforce chairman Alister Trier, followed by the Environment Centre NT director Kirsty Howey, GetUp, Lock the Gate Alliance and various Indigenous groups.
A number of Territory doctors will also present evidence to the hearing, where they are expected to raise their concerns about the health impacts of building the facility so close to Palmerston.
Independent ACT Senator David Pocock will be in Darwin for the hearings and said the project needed a “thorough, credible government analysis undertaken of the health impacts”, which should be properly considered before any approvals process occurs.
“It would be indefensible for any government to allow a development so hazardous to human health, and so close to where people live, work and go to school, to go ahead without any proper assessment or mitigation of such serious adverse health impacts,” he said.
“Evidence tendered to the senate inquiry to date shows that fracking of the Beetaloo Basin paired with a petrochemical processing plant at Middle Arm, just 2.5 kilometres from Palmerston, will create Australia’s very own cancer alley.
“This senate inquiry is an invaluable opportunity for governments to listen to evidence from a broad range of experts alongside community voices.”
Mr Pocock cited submissions from the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation NT branch, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists NT branch, the Australian Education Union NT, the Public Health Association of Australia with NT paediatricians, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and even the Darwin High School Students for Climate Action, who are all opposed to the Middle Arm development over health concerns.
Mr Pocock said while the Middle Arm project was being marketed by the NT Labor Government as a “sustainable development precinct”, he held concerns its “primary purpose appears to be enabling a major new fossil fuel gas export project from the Beetaloo Basin”.
The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee is due to file its report on August 13.
Can we please clone David Pocock and install him as another NT Senator? Such a breath of fresh air.
“A number of Territory doctors will also present evidence to the hearing, where they are expected to raise their concerns about the health impacts of building the facility so close to Palmerston.”
Will they cite which crystal ball they used to gather the information needed to make such claims? They don’t know what specific products will be processed, what times of the day or year those various manufacturing activities will occur, nor the proposed quantities involved. And all of the above is predicated on product leaking into the atmosphere, so perhasps they can also offer how their crystal ball was able to answer that question, too!