Darwin Harbour Development
Julia Christensen
ABC Darwin
Darwin Harbour Development
interviewing Delia Lawrie – Minister for Planning & Lands
I guess people accept the gas development on the bases that it’s here, it’s relatively clean but what about heavy chemical industries like Dow setting up on the shores of Darwin harbour or a uranium processing plant that Arafura Resources may want to build in Darwin for its Nolan’s Bore Project. Where would you put those?
Lawrie: Yeah well look any project would be assessed on its individual merits Julia.
Rptr: But the big picture though Delia, what’s the big picture for an industry like those, where would you put them?
Lawrie: Can I say and it’s important to understand this, that any project would be assessed on its individual merits. Ok so you referred to two specific projects. Can I say that within the development zone of Middle Arm, not on the foreshore but within the development zone the entire zone. We are talking about the size of land equivalent to Darwin’s northern suburbs. So there is what we call inland areas within that broad of development footprint that could indeed be relevant to down stream gas based industries such as the Dow Chemicals. Again with the Arafura Resources one, they were looking at a range of options. Whether it be Central Australia, closer to the mine site or indeed up in the Top End. So when you look at pros, if you look at the specifics of that project as to where they would most suitably locate it what their specific requirements are not all of them need to be located near a jetty. Some of them can use the road and rail infrastructure that exists in a larger zone area but as I say Middle Arm is the size of Darwin’s northern suburbs so a lot Middle Arm in fact is inland.
Rptr: So if Arafura Resources wanted to build a uranium processing plant in Darwin, inland in Middle Arm would be the place for it. I mean is that the overall plan?
Lawrie: No no, as I said Julia you’d have to assess it on its individual merit ok. Now they’re not here and they have had some preliminary discussions and they didn’t go any further. No further discussions have been held. Last time I discussed their project with them they were looking at the feasibility of locating close to mine site or indeed up in the broader of the Middle Arm Peninsular. Inland would be a site where they could certainly base a facility like that.
interviewing Delia Lawrie – Minister for Planning & Lands
I guess people accept the gas development on the bases that it’s here, it’s relatively clean but what about heavy chemical industries like Dow setting up on the shores of Darwin harbour or a uranium processing plant that Arafura Resources may want to build in Darwin for its Nolan’s Bore Project. Where would you put those?
Lawrie: Yeah well look any project would be assessed on its individual merits Julia.
Rptr: But the big picture though Delia, what’s the big picture for an industry like those, where would you put them?
Lawrie: Can I say and it’s important to understand this, that any project would be assessed on its individual merits. Ok so you referred to two specific projects. Can I say that within the development zone of Middle Arm, not on the foreshore but within the development zone the entire zone. We are talking about the size of land equivalent to Darwin’s northern suburbs. So there is what we call inland areas within that broad of development footprint that could indeed be relevant to down stream gas based industries such as the Dow Chemicals. Again with the Arafura Resources one, they were looking at a range of options. Whether it be Central Australia, closer to the mine site or indeed up in the Top End. So when you look at pros, if you look at the specifics of that project as to where they would most suitably locate it what their specific requirements are not all of them need to be located near a jetty. Some of them can use the road and rail infrastructure that exists in a larger zone area but as I say Middle Arm is the size of Darwin’s northern suburbs so a lot Middle Arm in fact is inland.
Rptr: So if Arafura Resources wanted to build a uranium processing plant in Darwin, inland in Middle Arm would be the place for it. I mean is that the overall plan?
Lawrie: No no, as I said Julia you’d have to assess it on its individual merit ok. Now they’re not here and they have had some preliminary discussions and they didn’t go any further. No further discussions have been held. Last time I discussed their project with them they were looking at the feasibility of locating close to mine site or indeed up in the broader of the Middle Arm Peninsular. Inland would be a site where they could certainly base a facility like that.