A Senate inquiry has failed to reach agreement on whether the federal government should spend A$1.5 billion on a major industrial hub in Darwin – spending critics say amounts to a huge fossil fuel subsidy.
The project, known as the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct, involves developing a manufacturing and minerals hub on a peninsula at Darwin Harbour. The project would span about 1,500 hectares and include, among other infrastructure, the third liquified natural gas (LNG) export hub on the peninsula.
Traditional owners say the hub would damage Sea Country and cultural heritage. Other submissions to the inquiry raised concerns about threats to human health and wildlife, and the implications of expanding the gas industry in the midst of a climate crisis.
