2025-10-23
Background
Reports from the Environment Department reveal that Inpex spilled 36,000L of oil into Darwin Harbour on the 12th of October. This comes in the wake of their admission that they under-reported their emissions of benzene, a chemical linked to cancer, by 13,400% since 2018.
It is clear that the fossil fuel industry cannot be trusted to measure and report on their emissions in a timely and accurate manner. And more importantly, they cannot be trusted to operate in a way that is safe for our environment and our communities.
We note that the Chair of the NT EPA, Mr Paul Vogel, has had to excuse himself from this matter because of a conflict of interest. It is concerning that the EPA Chair has had to recuse himself due to conflicts of interest arising from his involvement in the fossil fuel industry.
The NT Greens call for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into this crisis in the fossil fuel industry.
Quotes attributable to Kat McNamara MLA , Greens Member for Nightcliff
"The failures at Inpex continue, as they not only poison our air with cancer-causing chemicals but we now find out they've polluted our harbour with tens of thousands of litres of oil. This is a crisis."
"Having found out that Inpex underestimated their emissions by 13,400 percent, how are we expected to believe that these oil leak figures are anywhere near accurate?"
"I want the CEO of Inpex and our Environment Minister to look Darwin families in the eyes and say that they think it's acceptable for our children to be breathing in substances linked to leukaemia."
"I will be calling for an urgent Parliamentary Inquiry with public hearings to be held on this ongoing crisis of enormous leaks and dangerous pollution from the gas industry.