Draft Assessment Finds Middle Arm Project Would Remove 86 Percent of Endangered Herb Population

A draft environmental impact assessment prepared by the Northern Territory government found that the proposed Middle Arm Precinct would remove 86 percent of the total known population of Typhonium sp. Cox Peninsula, an herb listed as endangered in February 2026.

The assessment states that the Middle Arm Peninsula supports the largest known sub-population of the species and that land clearing for the project would eliminate the entire Middle Arm sub-population. The document notes that translocation of the plants to unaffected areas is proposed as mitigation.

Brock described the plant as six to seven centimetres high, producing a purple spathe at the start of the wet season. He told the ABC that the herb is endemic to the Darwin Harbour area and is one of three Northern Territory typhoniums now listed nationally as endangered.

Shorebird researcher Amanda Lilleyman stated that the project could affect feeding habitat for the critically endangered Far Eastern curlew on local salt marshes and mudflats. The assessment also found a significant impact on the endangered black-footed tree-rat.

The Northern Territory government's infrastructure department said the draft environmental impact statement has not been finalised and is expected to be released publicly in 2027. The department stated that judgements about impacts are premature until assessments are complete and that the precinct would unlock development across the Northern Territory.

Director of the Environment Centre NT Kirsty Howey obtained the leaked draft and said the scale of impact on threatened species in the area is unacceptable. 5 billion to Middle Arm project infrastructure, including gas export jetties.