Between 2017 — 18, Darwin's population shrank. Now, the Northern Territory Government is predicting Darwin's population will almost double to 250,000 by 2070.
But plans to allow developers to build high-rise apartment blocks in more of Darwin's inner suburbs to accommodate the population surge is deeply concerning residents like Catherine McAlpine.
As the NT Government proposes changes to planning laws and the NT planning scheme to manage predicted population growth, urban residents like Ms McAlpine, who have long been bordered by green open spaces, are upset about the densification plans.
Ms McAlpine is leading opposition to an application to rezone a piece of land on the edge of Darwin's Botanic Gardens from "community purposes to "high density" residential to allow a new development called Parklands to be built.
"It's been a very peaceful, beautiful, low-rise suburb, and that is why we all purchased here, because we want to live in a low-rise suburb," she said.
The rezoning application includes images of 14 apartment blocks of up to eight storeys overlooking the Botanic Gardens.
"Why does a single developer get to deprive Territorians of a public asset for his own gain?" Ms McAlpine asked.
Dolan Hayes from Makrylos Developments said the development would include up to 500 apartments in three- to eight-storey blocks and townhouses and would be built in stages over 20 to 30 years.
In response to the concerns of neighbours, he said the company had lowered its original planned apartment block height of 15 storeys.
"They have lived in a haven for some time, this is a beautiful area and this is now an opportunity to open it up to people in the broader community," he said.
The NT Government's senior planning director Dough Lesh said the Government was looking to "balance" residential development between "infill" — the rezoning of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction — and greenfield development.
"We are looking at achieving half greenfield on the fringes of the city and half infill development, Mr Lesh said.
Proposed planning laws unnerve residents
Members of the Planning Action Network (PLan) community group said they feared the new planning laws to be introduced to NT Parliament in February would make it easier for developers and politicians to override concerns about development issues, including more high-rises in suburbs.
PLan has accused the Government of watering down the current requirement for the amenity of residents to be considered when new developments are proposed.
"We shouldn't be signing a blank cheque because people are finding it hard to get development approved," PLan convener Nick Kirlew said.
But the NT Planning Department said most of the residents' concerns about the proposed laws were unfounded.
"Currently when the Minister makes decisions on re-zonings or developing policy there is nothing in the Planning Scheme for what he or she has to consider," Mr Lesh said.
"What we're proposing is to bring in mandatory considerations for the Minister, and mandatory requirements for a developer to address when they lodge an application, so the public will be very clear about what's being considered."
Mr Lesh said new decision-making considerations for the Minister would include protecting quality of life for existing residents and sustainable development principles.
