Dr Louise Woodward 

News of the large gas leak at the Santos LNG export hub in my hometown of Darwin came as a shock.  

My blood ran cold at the thought of thousands of tonnes of gas leaking into Darwin’s air, contributing to the toxic haze that already blankets our city. 

As a paediatrician, I know first-hand how Darwin’s air quality impacts our whole community, particularly children, pregnant women and the elderly.  

Darwin is home to two major gas plants run by Santos and Inpex, both with a troubling history of putting local populations at risk by failing to adequately manage toxic emissions. 

The relentless pursuit of gas production by consecutive governments and corporations has turned Darwin’s air into a health hazard, polluted our harbour with toxic metals, and turned residents into unwitting victims of an invisible killer.  

If a gas leak occurs in a home, it is treated as an emergency. There could be an explosion or, if there is poor ventilation, the residents of the home could be asphyxiated.  

So how is it that multiple authorities knew that gas was leaking from Darwin LNG for almost 20 years, and no-one bothered to tell the people of Darwin? 

We know that the leak was estimated at being up to 184 kilograms an hour back in 2020 – so the plant has been emitting millions of tonnes of climate pollution over its lifetime. 

Methane is one of the most polluting greenhouse gases and over 20 years, it can have a global warming potential up to 87 times greater than carbon dioxide.

It also poses a potentially huge safety risk - Santos’s own Emergency Response Plan says a methane leak could result in jet fires and explosions. This could put workers and the people of Darwin at risk. 

Gas companies have an obligation to protect nearby residents, as well as their own workers, to ensure that production standards are high, emissions are minimised, and leaks are addressed urgently.  

But gas companies in the Territory are polluting with impunity, enabled by regulatory bodies that seem to be asleep at the wheel. 

This scandal begs the question, what else is the gas industry hiding? 

Numerous peer reviewed studies have linked air pollution from the gas industry to asthma, certain cancers, migraines, heart attacks, pregnancy complications, premature birth, congenital abnormalities and even early death. 

Santos has admitted it exceeded its concentration limits for toxic benzene from 2021-2023, exposing local communities to risk of impacts to respiratory, endocrine, nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Inpex has also admitted it pumped out 22 times more volatile organic compounds than forecast in 2021-22. These compounds are known to cause cancer.   

The failure of both Territory and Commonwealth regulators to protect the public from this gas leak demonstrates the urgent need to strengthen environmental regulations governing heavy industries, particularly when they are located so close to population centres. 

Surprisingly, despite a large and expanding fossil fuel industry, Australia does not have adequate federal legislation to limit industrial air pollution or enforce penalties.  

Fugitive methane emissions are likely to be a problem way beyond Darwin and could be occurring at other LNG export hubs in Queensland and Western Australia. 

A Clean Air Act with teeth that prioritises public health and limits industrial emissions would improve air quality, public health and quality of life for all Australians. 

As this gas leak demonstrates, the lack of federal regulation is a major risk to public health, especially when the EPA fails in its duty of care to resident populations.  

Reducing air pollution for communities exposed to heavy industry should be a major priority for the Albanese government as they consider introducing a federal Environment Protection Authority.  

Without action from the Albanese Government, it’s likely that Santos, a company with an estimated value of $36 billion, that posted a $1.2 billion profit after tax last year, will let this massive methane leak continue for another 25 years. 

It is an untenable situation when residents suffer poor health and shortened lives whilst gas companies make record profits.

And this is just the beginning. We know that climate change, driven by the relentless pursuit of fossil fuels, is forecast to make large areas of the Northern Territory unlivable within two generations.  

The transition to renewables cannot come soon enough, particularly for the people of Darwin.  

Dr Louise Woodward is a Darwin paediatrician and CAHA Collaborator.