NT Government approves illegally built US fuel tanks

Written by: Nick G. on September 6 2025

US imperialism can act illegally, with impunity, in Australia aided and abetted by the national traitor class of politicians, public servants and their big business backers.

This is the only conclusion that can be drawn from the decision by the NT Government, and corresponding silence from Canberra, to exempt 11 massive US military fuel tanks built unlawfully on Darwin Harbour from needing occupancy certification.

The US fuel tank facility was announced in 2021 by the NT Environment Protection Authority.

The US government gave the contract for building and managing the fuel storage facility to US company Crowley Maritime Corporation, a privately-owned multinational based in Florida.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner issued a media release on 18 January 2022 announcing works commencing. He must have known, but chose to ignore, the fact that the project had not obtained occupancy certification, granted by a building certifier to show that a proposed structure has complied with all regulations.

Despite the construction by the US on Australia soil being illegal, it was allowed to proceed. 

Opposition came from the Larrakia traditional owners who raised concerns that unfiltered test water from the project was being discharged into Darwin Harbour without a valid Waste Discharge License from the Northern Territory EPA. They were joined by the Environment Centre NT and the NT Greens in expressing concerns about the lack of an Environmental Impact Statement and the fact that the tanks were not designed to withstand a category-three cyclone.

On September4, the NT's Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment, Josh Burgoyne, announced that he had approved the tanks for operation, after they were signed off by an “independent” engineer hired by Crowley.

The US has capriciously and illegally built above-ground storage for military fuels which would inevitably be targeted by Chinese missiles in the event of the war being planned by the US with China.

This is in marked contrast to the WW2 planning. When 11 above-ground fuel tanks were bombed and destroyed by the Japanese, the Australian government commissioned the building of underground storage tunnels below the cliffs on the Darwin waterfront.

What will be the cost to Darwin residents if the illegal US storage tanks are hit by missiles?

Finally, how much outrage (entirely justifiable) would have arisen if the Chinese operators of Darwin’s port had illegally constructed fuel storage tanks as part of their preparation for war?

The culture of national subservience to US imperialism is fully exposed in the waiving of prosecutions against a US multinational that has acted illegally.

It underscores the need for a genuinely anti-imperialist policy achieved by the defeat of  the US empire loyalists combined with opposition to the growth of Chinese social-imperialism.

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