List of Recommendation

Australian Greens’ Recommendations

1.1That the proposed Middle Arm Industrial Precinct and its $1.5 billion federal subsidy be redirected to support clean technology industries, and:

a)Fossil fuel based industries including gas and petrochemicals are not directly or indirectly funded;

b)Free, prior and informed consent is obtained from Larrakia people;

c)A health impact assessment is undertaken and published by the Australian Government and incorporated into decision-making. This must use robust methodologies approved by a panel of independent public health experts and include consideration of health risks from climate change;

d)Development scenarios used for strategic environmental assessments are publicly disclosed, and methodologies incorporated into the EIS are peer-reviewed and open for public comment; and

e)The Australian and NT governments disclose all economic and climate modelling conducted on the precinct, including those by EY, Deloitte and the CSIRO.

1.2That the ‘economic resilience stream’ in the Future Made in Australia framework be prohibited from subsidising fossil fuel industries or petrochemical production.

1.3That the Federal Environment Minister urgently use her powers under the water trigger to call in Tamboran Resources and Empire Energy’s proposed Beetaloo fracking wells for assessment under the EPBC Act.

1.4That the NT and Australian governments fund independent baseline research and ongoing environmental monitoring of species and ecosystems in the Northern Territory to ensure availability of adequate data to protect species and ecosystems into the future.

1.5That the NT Government and NT EPA impose stricter air pollution conditions on all fossil fuel facilities, including mandatory monitoring of volatile organic compounds and clear consequences for breach of licences.

That the NT Government revise the role of the NT EPA to create a strong, independent regulator with a clear mandate to enforce strict conditions, investigate infringements and facilitate pathways for community members to raise concerns about potential breaches.

Senator David Pocock’s Recommendations

Any investment by the Commonwealth into the proposed development of the Middle Arm precinct should be structured in a way that prevents benefit from the investment flowing to any gas or petrochemical processing facility.

1.6Commonwealth funding for the Middle Arm precinct should not proceed until the results of the human health impact assessment, covering each operation proposed to operate at the precinct, are known.

1.7The assessment must be conducted under the supervision of a qualified public health physician and must be made available for genuine public scrutiny and critique before being accepted.

1.8The circumstances in which $1.5 billion in Commonwealth funding was committed for the Middle Arm precinct should be investigated. Any investigation should determine the role of lobbying firms, and Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government members and officials, and ascertain how the decision to spend such a significant sum of taxpayer money was made without a clear articulation of the cost and benefit.

1.9Federal Government funding commitments for the Middle Arm precinct should be withdrawn or put on hold, pending a completed environmental impact assessment and approval by Infrastructure Australia in accordance with its Assessment Framework.

1.10Free, prior and informed consent of Larrakia Traditional Owners must be obtained before any development of the Middle Arm precinct commences.

Senator Lidia Thorpe’s Recommendations

1.11In line with the clear demands of Larrakia Custodians, the life threatening and ecocidal Middle Arm Industrial Precinct must not proceed, and colonial governments should instead divert the allocated funding and resources into projects that promote the health of Country and its people rather than threaten it.

1.12The federal government’s support for the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct must be contingent upon the Northern Territory Government obtaining the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Larrakia people.

1.13The Northern Territory Government must not proceed with the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct until it has obtained the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Larrakia people.

1.14In developing a cultural values framework for engagement with Larrakia Peoples, the Northern Territory Government must engage in a broad consultation process that adheres to the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent and engage on a grassroots level with all nine Larrakia families and appropriate knowledge-holders.

1.15Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into domestic law to have full domestic effect and enshrine in law First Peoples’ rights to Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

1.16Implement all recommendations from the 2023 Inquiry into the application of UNDRIP in Australia, including establishing a process for auditing existing legislation and policies against the principles of UNDRIP and developing a National Action Plan for the implementation of UNDRIP.

1.17Northern Territory and federal governments must strengthen transparency and accountability obligations within Northern Territory Land Councils, with particular reference to:

governance arrangements and relations with mining companies;

proper management of conflicts of interest;

inequalities in the negotiating position of Traditional Owners; and

adherence with the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

1.18The federal parliament must conduct an inquiry into First Nations representative bodies, to inquire into the governance of Northern Territory Land Councils, Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) and Prescribed Body Corporates (PBCs), with particular reference to:

the effectiveness of the Native Title Act 1993, and related state and federal institutional and policy frameworks, in addressing inequalities in the negotiating position of First Peoples, and alignment with the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent; and

opportunities for reforming existing institutional, legislative and policy frameworks, including new accountability or governance arrangements, to better advance the rights and economic, social, environmental and cultural aspirations of First Peoples.

1.19The Albanese Government must immediately begin a process of Truth-telling, so that we can tell the history of this place, learn about the ravages and destruction that has occurred to our lands and waterways, understand the exploitation of First Peoples and our natural resources and allow us all to heal.

1.20Defence Housing Australia must immediately stop their ecocidal development at binybara/Lee Point and commence a process of returning control of this land to the custodianship of Larrakia peoples.

1.21Urgent reform is needed to restore trust in government decision making by removing the influence of the fossil fuel industry from politics, including electoral reforms, banning political donations from fossil fuel companies, and proper investigation and recourse into conflicts of interest relating to all politicians and their staff.

1.22Governments must ensure that First Peoples’ perspectives and ecological knowledge are given at least equal weight to Western science so that the cultural authority of First Peoples can be embedded in all environmental policy, practices and approaches to nature protection, including ecological surveys, evaluations and decision making.

1.23The Albanese Government must immediately begin a Treaty process with all Sovereign First Peoples, which will enable all language groups to uphold their cultural authority over Country and self-determine their own aspirations.

1.24The federal government must withdraw the $1.5 billion it has committed to this destructive project and reinvest it into lifesaving housing, health, and other much needed lifesaving services.

1.25Current and future governments must not approve any new fossil fuel projects if we are to meet our emissions reduction obligations under the Paris Agreement.

1.26Current and future governments must ensure that all proposed energy projects, including fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, offshore gas projects and carbon capture and storage projects, undergo rigorous environmental assessments that include:

a requirement to obtain the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of First Peoples whose lands are impacted;

proper consideration of climate impacts, including Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of projects; and

ensuring that new environmental and cultural heritage laws, once introduced, apply to all proposals that have not yet received final approval.

Recommendation 17

1.27The federal Minister for Environment and Water must call in Tamboran and Empire Energy’s gas fracking wells for assessment under the EPBC water trigger.

1.28The federal government must use all the tools at its disposal to ensure the Northern Territory Government adheres to all recommendations of the Pepper Inquiry, particularly addressing non-compliance with Recommendation 9.8 that requires all Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions from fracking projects to be offset.

1.29The federal government must implement in full all recommendations from the 2021 A Way Forward Report into the destruction of Juukan Gorge, including introducing new standalone cultural heritage legislation as a matter of urgency.

1.30The federal environmental laws must urgently be reformed to ensure that the full impacts on Country, culture and climate of projects like the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct can be properly assessed, including:

reforming the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EBPC Act) to include a climate trigger;

amending the EPBC Act water trigger to include consideration of the cultural values of water resources and carbon capture and storage projects;

establishing legally enforceable National Environmental Standards, including a First Nations Standard for Participation and Engagement in Decision-Making; and

ensuring new environmental laws and National Environmental Standards align with new cultural heritage laws to protect any further destruction to First Nations tangible and intangible cultural heritage.