Western Australian climate activists have been left in limbo after state and federal Labor refused to commit to the WA Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) recommendation that Woodside’s proposed Browse Basin expansion would be “unacceptable”.
The EPA’s recommendation was released on August 5, following a freedom of information request.
It is expected to make a final recommendation next year, which could be an election year for the state.
Initially, Premier Roger Cook said the $30 billion gas development off the Kimberley coast should not go ahead if the EPA found an unacceptable risk. Later, he said that the final approval would be made by WA environment minister Reece Whitby, not the EPA.
Then on August 8, Cook said Browse is a “critical project for WA and the world’s energy transition”.
Woodside’s proposed Browse Basin expansion is a gas plant located off the north-western coast, near Scott Reef, a marine habitat for turtles, pygmy blue whales, dugongs and many other important species.
It represents the biggest part of Woodside’s Burrup Hub mega-project, a gas processing network, based in Murujuga National Park outside of Karratha. It is estimated to produce more than 6 billion tonnes of carbon emissions over the next 50 years.
The proposed project has been criticised for chemical emissions destroying ancient First Nations rock art, up to 50,000 years old.
There is reason to be pessimistic. Labor has form in ignoring the EPA in favour of approving gas projects, and federal Labor’s Future Gas Strategy states that gas will remain an important fuel beyond 2050.
Mark McGowan, Cook’s predecessor, ignored EPA concerns, or directly influenced EPA decision-making for Chevron’s Gorgon project and Woodside’s Scarborough Gas field (also part of the Burrup Hub).
However, the final decision does not lie only with the WA government: federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek could shut Browse down.
Now both sides have taken the battle to Canberra. A petition against Burrup Hub, with more than 440,000 signatures, was handed to Pilbersek in August by Greenpeace. Meanwhile, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neil attended a $2000-a-head Labor fundraiser during Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visit.
The PM refused to commit either way, telling the West Australian on August 8 that job security, energy reliability and protecting our environment all go hand in hand.
Kristen Morrissey, a campaigner for Disrupt Burrup Hub, told Green Left: “Albanese promised us on election night that his prime ministership would ‘end the climate wars’.
“Yet, since then, we have seen nothing but a rise in emissions, mining approvals and evidence of the WA and federal governments are acting in the interests of big polluters.
“Browse, the largest carbon bomb in the southern hemisphere, is hurtling towards ignition. The irresponsibility of this is astounding and ensures the climate wars are only just beginning.”