Hundreds of residents rallied on January 26 in response to a proposal to build a large residential island between 200 metres and one kilometre off Nightcliff Beach.
The proposal, dubbed “Nightcliff Island”, was revealed in Northern Territory parliament in June last year. Approval has only been given for exploration at this point but environmentalists are concerned about the impact on fauna-rich mangroves in the area.
Environment Centre NT Director Stuart Blanch said on January 22: “The NT [government] should not be giving away our public land to developers, particularly not when it involves such a large area of land reclamation in an ecologically sensitive part of Darwin Harbour.”
Acting planning minister John Elferink told ABC Radio on January 20: “The [Nightcliff Island developers] Halikos group is simply scratching a rock to go and have a look if a proposal is viable.
“There is nothing wrong with that. I would like to see more proposals in Darwin so we can see jobs being created.”
Speakers at the rally included David Morris from the Environmental Defenders Office, ECNT marine campaigner Sam Nolan and Larrakeyah spokesperson Donna Jackson.