The relationship between industrial air pollution and social disadvantage in Australia: national and regional inequities

This technical paper used rank correlation analysis to link the spatial distribution of sites and emissions associated with industrial pollution sources, derived from the National Pollution Inventory (NPI), to Indigenous status and socio-economic disadvantage characteristics of communities, derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics indicators. Specifically, this analysis considered the distribution of NPI sites, as well as the number, quantity, and toxicity of chemicals released in each community. The statistical results suggest significantly inequitable patterns of industrial pollution based on NPI sites and air releases at the national scale, as well as in all States and Territories except for Tasmania, where correlations were non-significant, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), where correlations for most variables have opposite signs. The strongest correlations with air pollution for both Indigenous and socioeconomic disadvantage variables were found in Northern Territory. These results reconfirmed findings initially reported about the inequitable distribution of air pollution in Australia, were consistent with recent pollution incidents in Aboriginal and low-income communities, and provide further evidence of the need to address environmental justice considerations in environmental planning and policy-making in Australia.