The current Wickham Point gas terminal sits at the end of the Middle Arm development site. Photo: Santos video screenshot.
The business case for the Northern Territory’s ambitious Middle Arm industrial hub has been rejected by Infrastructure Australia.
The federal infrastructure body says more work needs to be done to justify the port’s development, and that it has extended the deadline to receive the environmental impact statement (EIS) by two years.
The ABC reports that, in response to Infrastructure Australia’s findings, the NT Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) recently also extended its deadline for the Northern Territory Government to submit an EIS proposal by two years, from October 2024 to October 2026.
Located across the harbour from Darwin’s existing port, Middle Arm is planned to be a “sustainable ‘development ready’ industrial precinct with common user infrastructure”.
While the peninsula already has the Bladin Point and Wickham Point gas terminals, Weddell Power Station, and other smaller industrial sites, there are still large areas of wetlands, tidal channels and mangroves.
The expansion would see it host a much larger gas production site and terminal to support the controversial Beetaloo Basin project, as well as facilities for carbon capture and storage, minerals processing, and green hydrogen production.
The ABC says the delays caused by Infrastructure Australia’s rejection could see the project slip by two years to 2029. It is the latest in a series of adverse findings against the project, with environmental groups and health experts claiming the project would worsen pollution and expand the fossil fuel industry.
Responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Environment Centre NT, Infrastructure Australia said it has knocked back the business case put forward by the NT government pending additional work.
“The business case for the Middle Arm precinct … was considered, but not accepted for evaluation by Infrastructure Australia on 27 February 2024,” it said. “The proponent … is still developing the business case.”
The Middle Arm development site covers a vast area south of the Darwin CBD. Image: NT Government.
Executive Director of Environment Centre NT Dr Kirsty Howey described the project as a “sinking ship and in complete disarray as a project”.
“It is a national scandal that there is $1.9 billion earmarked for the Territory sitting idle in the federal contingency reserve that won’t be spent for years – if the project goes ahead at all,” she said.
“Without delay, the Albanese Government must redirect the Middle Arm gas subsidy into initiatives in the Territory that will improve the lives of Territorians struggling with the cost of living crisis. That needs to happen today, not in the next decade.”
Danggalaba Kulumbirigin woman and traditional owner Mililma May said her community could see through the project.
“Our community has been steadfast in calling this gas hub exactly what it is – this gas hub can only be described in three ways: harmful, a farce and a waste of taxpayer money,” she said.
“We must listen to our elders, we must listen to Country and we must stop Middle Arm gas hub.”
But the new NT Infrastructure Minister Bill Yan blamed the Federal Government for the delays.
“From our department’s perspective dealing with the Federal Government, there’s been an eight- to twelve-month delay in getting a response back,” he said.
“We’ve had some delays dealing with the Federal Government on the environmental assessments and sadly that’s taken longer than what it should have.”
In a separate statement to the ABC, Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said questions about the project’s time frames were best directed to the NT Government, and that the government remained committed to funding the development.
“The Albanese Government remains committed to the $1.5 billion planned equity investment to support the development of common user infrastructure at the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct,” she said.
