The peak body for Climate and Health Alliance, CAHA, and 16 health organisations have called on the federal government to cancel the $1.5bn commitment to the proposed Middle Arm Project gas and petrochemical project and redirect these funds to healthcare in the Northern Territory.

Healthcare in the NT is chronically under-funded and the infrastructure is crumbling, including the Royal Darwin Hospital. Many NT residents experience substandard healthcare compared to the rest of the country given lack of investment and support for healthcare workers.

Yet, the Federal Government maintains its $1.5 billion commitment to Middle Arm gas and petrochemical precinct in Darwin. This comes after recent admission by the NT EPA that residents and workers could be breathing in harmful emissions from existing LNG plants. 

Australian children and families are already suffering from the health effects of toxic chemicals these plants produce, like benzene and other volatile organic compounds. More children are at risk from asthma and families are exposed to greater risk of cancer, birth defects, kidney and heart disease.

CAHA and 16 endorsing health organisations are calling on the Prime Minister and Health Minister to cancel the $1.5 billion funding for Middle Arm gas plants and direct these funds to Northern Territory healthcare.

This should not be a difficult choice, we must Fund Health, Not Gas in the NT.

Read the Letter here

If you would like to add your organisation's name to this call, please email [email protected]

“The Australian Government's decision to fund petrochemical development at Middle Arm is astonishing in the degree to which it conflicts with public health. The proposal undermines meaningful community participation, threatens environmental and cultural wellbeing, disregards First Nations justice, risks efforts to protect clean air and preserve significant habitats, and is inconsistent with Australia's obligation to reduce carbon emissions.”

— Dr Rosalie Schultz, NT Branch, Public Health Association Australia, CAHA Member

“Climate change poses an existential threat to human health and wellbeing, with profound consequences for Australia's economy. Investing in industries that exacerbate this threat is fundamentally at odds with the Government's responsibility to protect the health of current and future generations.”

— Holly Donaldson, Executive Director, Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia (CAPHIA), CAHA Member

"Feelings of grief, anxiety and anger about the climate crisis are valid responses to real threats, and they ease when leaders act in alignment with the climate reality we are facing. Cancelling the Middle Arm subsidy would protect people from toxic pollution and further climate harm, and redirecting it to healthcare would care for the physical and mental health of people and the living world we all depend on.”

— Dr. Bronwyn Gresham, CEO, Psychology for a Safe Climate, CAHA Member