Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Environment and Communications References Committee, as the chair of that committee, I present the report on the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct together with accompanying documents. And I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I've just tabled this report for the inquiry that has been going for almost 12 months. We have had 12 months worth of evidence on this project in Darwin, in the Darwin Harbour, that is being propped up by $1½ billion of Australian taxpayers' money, committed to by the federal Labor government. Throughout this inquiry, we heard from traditional owners, community members, health and medical experts, the tourism and fishing industries and environmental groups. All of these groups are extremely concerned about this project, about the dangerous, toxic nature of turning Darwin Harbour into a precinct that will have petrochemicals, including the further expansion of the gas and fossil fuel industry.

Health experts have warned us that this will be dangerous and toxic, that it will have a significant impact on the land around the Darwin Harbour and the condition of the water in that area. A mere three kilometres away, in the town of Palmerston, people are worried about the quality of air and the impact the petrochemical hub will have on their health. Health experts have warned us that cancer rates could be impacted. People are worried about asthma as a result of the types of industries that this hub will support.

Throughout this inquiry, many of the individuals in the Darwin and Northern Territory community as well as experts have urged that the Middle Arm precinct project should be re-imagined and should go ahead only if it is fossil fuel free. Experts and members of the local community point out very clearly that there is huge potential for the local economy to be investing in clean green industries. Turning Darwin Harbour into a hub for petrochemicals is simply not acceptable and not what the local community want. This is the last thing that the government should be doing and the last thing that the government should be spending taxpayers' money on, not only making the climate crisis worse but making it very dangerous for local residents.

The fishing and tourism industries are worried about the impact this is going to have on them. We know that the project will clear habitat in a biodiversity hotspot, the equivalent of 750 MCGs. That's an awful lot of special biologically diverse land and nature. Existing LNG plants are already killing off dolphins and other vulnerable species in the Darwin Harbour. The number of dolphins in the area has plummeted since the current LNG plants were established. People are worried about what impact a further expansion of this will mean for their local area and that pristine part of Darwin Harbour.

Medical experts have told us this project risks human health, with cancer-causing chemicals. We heard some very serious evidence from doctors and health experts not only in Darwin, when we visited, but also here in Canberra, with experts from around the country. Darwin doesn't want it; that was very clear. We had thousands of submissions in relation to this inquiry, with people putting clearly on the record their concerns and their frustration that their concerns were being ignored. They want the federal government and this parliament to listen.

Clearly, the overwhelming evidence we had and the submissions we received urged the federal government to rule out using this precinct as an opportunity to expand fossil fuels and to instead back the clean industries of the future. They are wanting to keep their air clean, their water clean and their climate safe. This is such a big issue in the local Darwin area and for the local community, but it has clearly put ripples right throughout the Northern Territory. I know we table this report in the federal parliament today on the eve of the Territory election on Saturday. People are watching what this parliament does. They will be reading with great interest the recommendations from all parties and going through the evidence.

To wrap up: while there was a lot of passion in relation to this issue, I thank every member of the committee who participated and the secretariat for their hard work. It's no mean feat running an inquiry like this and being able to pull together the various community groups and their views. The roundtables, the hearings—an awful lot of work was put into this inquiry, and I thank the secretariat for helping manage this in such a thorough way. To my fellow committee members: we may not agree on everything but I thank you for agreeing on the facts, the evidence and the findings this committee came to. We each have our own recommendations, and I urge not just those members in the Northern Territory community or in Darwin but those members across the country who are interested to consider the very long list of recommendations everybody has put forward. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.