To: Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia
Submission to White Paper on Development of Northern Australia
Ms Maria Woodgate
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8/8/14
I am a long-time resident of Darwin and a consultant hydrogeologist. I would like to submit
the following comments in relation to the economic development of the Northern Territory:
The natural environment – the most valuable asset
The top end is unique and valuable for the very reason that it is largely undeveloped. The
terrestrial and water environments are still largely intact and pristine, the resources largely
unsullied. The top end has the largest tracts of intact savannah in the world. This makes it of
increasingly high value for tourism – a lucrative business with low impact relative to other
types of industry.
The bottom line is that development of the top end will inevitably degrade the environment.
The best practices in the world will still lead to incremental visible and less-visible
degradation of the natural environment. This will cost society both economically and socially
and diminish the appeal of the top end.
The increasing rarity of undeveloped areas of our world imparts great value to the top end in
its current condition which will only increase as the rest of the world continues to degrade its
natural environment.
In short, vast areas of the top end can be regarded as the ‘last frontier’. Therein lies their
primary value. It should be kept that way.
Limited Resources
The lay person may have a perception of the top end as a place of endless, abundant
resources. The reality is that arable land is scarce, both surface and groundwater are limited
(especially toward the end of the dry season), and there are numerous physical and
biological factors that limit the horticultural possibilities. The failed experiment of Fogg Dam,
just outside Darwin, is a stark reminder that the top end cannot be turned into another
Goulburn Valley or Lockyer Valley-style food bowl.
The unique and extreme environment of the top end means that any plans for horticultural
development beyond what already exists may be unrealistic.
In relation to water management, the flat topography of the top end is generally not
conducive to dam construction.
In short, even a rudimentary understanding of the nature of the top end environment
suggests that the top end cannot and never will be a food bowl without some extreme
technological intervention.
Climate
The top end has a climate which is very uncomfortable for a large part of the year. In the
early to late 20th century, top enders adapted to this harsh climate with good house design
(breezy, open, elevated), and a slower pace of life. People did not use or depend on airconditioning. Increasingly, new and young residents of the top end have become addicted to
air conditioning and new housing is almost all designed for air-conditioning (closed and
poorly ventilated). This is a high energy demand way to live in the top end and a retrograde
step in terms of carbon dioxide emission reductions.
It is my view that if you come to live in the top end, you should embrace and adapt to the
environment you are living in. To this end, any large scale development of the top end
should include the following progressive features:
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Improved housing code and regulations for a return to climate friendly (open,
elevated, well ventilated) housing; and,
Development and uptake of large scale renewable energy technology – the obvious
one being solar but also potentially tidal and wind.
Quality of Governance
The current quality of governance in the NT is questionable. Poor regulation, poor
compliance, under-resourced and (with a few notable exceptions) lacking in capability, talent
and experience. This is not an ideal environment in which to engage in large-scale
development projects from an environmental protection and resource management
perspective.
To illustrate, there have been a large number of environmental accidents at minesites in the
top end (Ranger, Mount Todd, Redbank, Rum Jungle and the Montara Offshore Oil Spill).
These accidents demonstrate two things:
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The intrinsic difficulty of managing surface water containments in monsoonal
conditions, (think Ok Tedi); and,
The apparent inability of the NT government to protect its water and land resources.
Conclusion
Any development of Northern Australia should seek to preserve the unique environment and
protect those resources critical for sustaining life. The progressive, lower-cost, lower-energy
approach should involve working with, and adapting to, the existing top end environment
rather than forcing unsuitable energy and technology intensive activities on the environment.
There are many opportunities here to develop the top end, but in an intelligent, progressive
and sustainable way that take into account the limitations of the physical world. 20th century
approaches to development do not necessarily apply.