By Tim E. Stewart
DARWIN — 150 people attended a twilight public meeting called here by the NT Environment Centre on April 14, to discuss the controversial issue of Darwin Harbour development.
Speakers from the Environment Centre and the fishing and tourism industry discussed the impact of development plans on the local environment.
The plans centre on the land use and port facilities of the Darwin Harbour area but are part of longer term projections encompassing tourism, industry and defence in the region.
Activist Stella Kirk opened the meeting by saying the issue was "too precious to become a political football. The public must be made aware of the issues."
Concerns focused on the impact of development on the 38 species of mangrove which cover35% of the coastal land in the region. Local biologists and fishing representatives pointed out that mangroves are an essential part of the larger estuarine food chain. They are integral to the early life cycle of fish and crustaceans, and provide specific habitats for snakes, skinks, crocodiles and even butterflies.
Mangrove forests play a key part in the larger food chain which we make use of. Around 4000 tonnes of prawns a year are harvested in the Darwin area, along with crab, bream and mullet.
Darwin Harbour has the largest concentration of mangroves in the Northern Territory. But little information has been gathered on the effect of mangrove destruction on the local food chains. The NT Conservation Commission drafted a mangrove protection plan in 1992 but this was never published.
Ken Parish (ALP) the last speaker on the platform, shed light on powerful forces driving development of Darwin Harbour, indicating that oil and defence industries are the biggest players.
The oil industry is keen to have a significant upgrading of port facilities, having recently struck rich oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea. As part of the federally funded Building Better Cities program, the NT government is looking to relocate hazardous inner city gas and petroleum storage areas to the more high-tech facilities.
As well as being subsidised for the move, the oil industry is looking to"defray" costs by subdividing the prime waterfront real estate it will be vacating.
Parish also spoke of pressure by the Department of Defence to upgrade the port facilities. If contracts to build naval patrol boats are won, Australia and Malaysia's patrol boat facilities would be operating out of Darwin, making it Australia's third largest naval base.
Any plans by federal and territory governments, however, are clearly ignoring public opinion. A survey conducted by the Darwin City Council in 1991 found that 23% of people wanted no development whatsoever of the area and 53% wanted only low key development in limited areas.
After the meeting, Greens candidate Ilana Eldridge told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳, "While the NT Greens welcome debate on the harbour issue, it was disgusting that no member of the Larrakia people was asked to speak on the panel. They are the traditional landowners of the area, and ultimately it is they who should decide what happens to the area."