Huge win for community health in Darwin!
Thursday 18 June 2026
Huge win for community health in Darwin!
After months of advocacy from health and community sectors, the NT Government has committed to significantly expanding its air quality monitoring program across Darwin, including monitoring benzene and other cancer-causing pollutants.
We’ve been advocating alongside Dr Louise Woodward, Paediatrician and CAHA Volunteer, for stronger clean air laws that protect the air we share and hold polluters accountable. Meanwhile, CHANT (Community Healthy Air NT) has been calling for community-led mobile air monitoring to identify pollution hotspots and fill gaps in existing monitoring.
In this ABC Darwin interview, Dr Louise Woodward and Michelle Isles joined Jess Ong on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Darwin to discuss what this announcement means for local communities and next steps for improving air quality monitoring across Darwin.
Listen to the interview here.
Further media coverage:
NT government climate resilience plan prioritises acceleration of Beetaloo gas project - ABC News
Dr Louise Woodward responds to Santos enabled to increase polluting days by 26 - ABC NT Country Hour (Louise’s interview is about 11mins in)
Interview with CAHA's policy advisor Professor Melissa Haswell - ABC Radio Darwin (Melissa’s interview is about 50mins in)
This win in Darwin shows what's possible when communities, health professionals and advocates work together. But monitoring air pollution is just the beginning – Australia still needs strong, enforceable clean air laws to make polluters stop.
With your support, CAHA can lead a national campaign for strong clean air laws that truly protect the air we breathe, now and into the future.
Donations are 100% tax deductible:
caha.org.au/donate
