Marine & Coastal

Gas at Wickham Point

Yet Another Threat To Darwin Harbour

Darwin Harbour is special to everyone. It is a beautiful place that supports an abundance of life and a range of lifestyles. The natural, cultural, recreational and aesthetic value of Darwin Harbour is indisputable. It is very clear that people want a secure future for Darwin Harbour, a future that is assured for the long term. Petitions in recent months have seen thousands of Territorians call for a National Park for Darwin Harbour and its mangroves yet there is still no protection in place and the Harbour's future is as uncertain as ever.

Threats to Darwin Harbour continue to loom and the community is continually fighting to keep the Harbour in its relatively undeveloped state. Community pressure forced the Government to shelve plans for a dam the beautiful Elizabeth River but then the proposal to build a huge LNG plant at Wickham point reared its head again.

This proposal cannot be seen in isolation, current planning documents identify the entire Ware Peninsula (which Wickham Point is the end of) as an industrial zone. If the LNG plant goes ahead, associated industries will be quick to follow and we will soon be living by a very different Harbour. Darwin will become primarily an industrial city, and like industrial towns elsewhere in Australia, this piece of coast will be changed for all time and changed for the worse.

The problems with this proposal are many and not all relate to the siting of the plant. We need to ask whether the Timor Sea gas reserves should be exploited at all and how the product will be used. As a part of the global community the Northern Territory has a responsibility to ensure that development here does not lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere are increasing dramatically. This is largely due to increasing industrialisation internationally which has been happening more and more rapidly for the last 100 years or so. Things like coal or gas fired power stations, oil-burning transport (planes, trucks and cars) as well as major developments such as aluminium smelters and broadscale landclearing all contribute to increasing the emission of these gases. Increased levels of greenhouse gases are widely accepted by scientists as being responsible for the major shifts in climate patterns that we are seeing around the world.

Back to top

From the dramatic storms that have hit Europe and Central America in the past few years to the unusually long droughts currently being experienced in Tasmania, world weather patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable and extreme and the blame is largely being squared at increased levels of greenhouse gases, caused by humans. The Territory is not immune to such impacts and in our climate of extremes, there is not much room to move before climate change will mean extinctions and major changes to the landscape we currently know and love.

When considering the pros and cons of using gas reserves, climate change must be considered. While burning gas does produce less greenhouse gases than burning other fossil fuels such as coal, it is far from a 'clean green' fuel as some would have us believe. Gas has the potential to be a useful transition fuel between the old world 'hot heavy and wet' economies which rely on the dirtiest fossil fuels such as oil and coal and the new 'clean light and dry' economies of an ecologically sustainable future.

The Territory is in prime position to become a world leader in these economies of the future such as renewable energy. If Timor Sea gas is to be developed, we must ensure that it is not used to create new energy markets which could otherwise be supplied by emerging renewable technologies. The gas must only be used as part of a clear transition away from coal and oil fired power stations, such as those in southern Australia.

Its time to make a choice about the future we want for Darwin Harbour. Even if the gas plant is not built at Wickham Point, without legislative protection there is no certainty and another development could be put on the table tomorrow. Its time to stop the pressures on the Harbour once and for all. We need to see comprehensive planning which includes protection for Darwin Harbour, and provides the community with a range of adequately assessed options for siting industrial developments, away from areas of environmental importance. Only then will we be able to consider development proposals on a case by case basis without having to trade off the values of beautiful Darwin Harbour against dubious developments that could certainly be sited elsewhere.

You can also help protect Darwin Harbour by joining the Environment Centre NT
To download a membership form click here

Back to top

MORE INFORMATION

Back to top