Documents released under Freedom of Information laws reveal senior doctors warned the NT Government in 2024 that emissions from two gas plants near Darwin could increase residents’ risk of cancer.
However, the Government did not agree to expand air quality monitoring until almost two years later.
The warning centred on two major gas facilities near Darwin which residents have questioned for years.
Here’s what happened.
Middle Arm
Middle Arm is a peninsula in Darwin Harbour, about 13km from the CBD.
It is already home to two liquefied natural gas processing plants operated by Santos and INPEX, and sits close to residential suburbs and Darwin’s two major hospitals.
The Federal Government plans to expand the site further, with $1.5 billion committed to additional infrastructure.
Benzene
A key concern surrounding the Middle Arm precinct is the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a group of air pollutants emitted during gas processing.
Short-term exposure to one of these pollutants, benzene, has been linked to worsened asthma and increased heart attack risk. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of leukaemia and other cancers.
The World Health Organisation says there is no safe level of benzene exposure. However, the NT Chief Health Officer said the current risk to human health in Darwin is “very low”.
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FOI Request
Freedom of Information (FOI) laws allow anyone to request access to government documents, including internal emails, letters and briefings that are not otherwise made public.
Climate Integrity, a not-for-profit research and advocacy organisation, lodged an FOI request with the NT Government seeking correspondence relating to a 2024 warning from senior doctors about the risk of benzene and other VOCs to the local community. Here’s the timeline:
September 2024 - Senior doctors from a medical advisory committee at Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals write directly to newly elected Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro. Co-chairs Dr Adrienne Deans and Dr Kaspar Wilson warn that INPEX’s gas plant at Middle Arm is “emitting dangerous amounts of toxic pollution” with no pollution limits in place.
October 2024 - An email chain uncovered by the FOI request shows NT Health's Chief Health Officer Dr Christine Connors had intervened to stop the Chief Minister replying directly. Dr Connors wrote that it is “not the role or remit” of the doctors to write to the Chief Minister. She warned a direct reply would encourage them to keep “bypassing internal processes”. The letter was ultimately redirected to the Department of Health. The deadline for a reply passed multiple times. A senior health official internally flagged that the Department's draft response was missing “a specific commitment to air tox monitoring.”
November 2024 - Nearly two months after the doctors’ original letter, Dr Connors replies on behalf of NT Health. The official response makes no firm commitment to monitor for benzene or other VOCs.
October 2025 - INPEX admitted it had underestimated its own benzene emissions. A 2024 estimate of 4.12 tonnes of benzene was later revised to 556.9 tonnes, revealing an underreporting of more than 13,000%. An independent review later found “fundamental deficiencies” in INPEX's emissions calculations, dating back to when the plant opened in 2018.
June 2026 - Frustrated by the lack of independent data on VOCs, Darwin residents formed a group called Community Healthy Air NT and launched a fundraiser for their own mobile air monitoring equipment. They raised over $100,000. The next day, the NT Government announced plans for its own expanded air quality testing in Darwin.
Days after announcing expanded air quality testing, the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority approved a permit extension for Santos. It will allow the company to emit toxic gases and VOCs, including benzene, for an extra 26 days each year. Santos already has permission to emit for 36 days each year.
Darwin paediatrician Dr Louise Woodward welcomed the Government’s commitment to expand air quality monitoring, but told TDA: “It’s not enough just to measure the pollution, they actually have to stop these companies from producing the pollution in the first place”.
