1540 AWST
What if the conditions are too stringent for Woodside?
As Woodside's CEO Meg O'Neill has said, her team is now working with bureaucrats from the environment minister's office and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) over the next ten days.
While the substance of the conditions is not known, O'Neill did confirm they are relate - perhaps unsurprisingly - to heritage and air quality.
However, the proposed decision, including conditions, now lies with Woodside.
Once they have had a chance to consider the conditions and respond to the proposed decision, they could try to negotiate on the conditions.
If that happens then it will be up to Watt to consider those suggestions before issuing a final decision.
1535 AWST
What did we learn from Meg O'Neill's comments?
- Woodside has a 10-day window to work with the department to understand the conditions
- The conditions relate to heritage and air quality.
- Woodside's team is working through them with the department to understand exactly what the conditions mean. Woodside will respond and work with the department over the coming days
- Woodside supports the World Heritage listing and believes industry and heritage can coexist
And what's next?
O'Neill said her team has already engaged with the minister's team and "our goal is to revert to the minister as soon as possible."
In ten days' time the minister will issue a formal letter and O'Neill said their "intention is to get off to business."
"When we have approvals legally granted from the appropriate authorities, that's the basis on which we have to make investment decisions. So, we intend to proceed full speed ahead."
1513 AWST
The CEO of the IEEFA reacts to Murray Watts' approval
1457 AWST
Hear directly from Woodside's CEO Meg O'Neill.
Here's her press conference in full.
1454 AWST
Australian Greens senator Dorinda Cox
"The UNESCO World Heritage Committee draft decision should have been enough for Murray Watt to reconsider the impacts of this gas project on the WA Burrup Peninsula - but here we are again with some "restrictions". The UNESCO committee has been clear that the protection of the outstanding universal values means the total removal of degrading acidic emissions, currently impacting upon the petroglyphs of the Murujuga [area].
"This draft decision before the committee meets again in July and the controversial Western Australian government long-awaited results from its ongoing Rock Art Monitoring Program. This should have given the Minister a valid reason to delay this decision to investigate further how to prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape - this should have been the priority.
"Days after the Juukan Gorge anniversary, the protection of sacred sites and places is a raw and chilling reminder for First Nations people of the lack of protection for our cultural heritage rights. 65,000 years of history, culture and connection is alive and well, especially in places like the Pilbara. In the 48th Parliament I will reintroduce the We All Come Together For Country Bill 2025 to amend the EPBC Act to protect and preserve sites like Murajuga from destructive industrial emissions and keep fighting for stronger cultural heritage protections."
1452 AWST
AgZero say approval is a "slap in the face to Western Australian farmers
AgZero Chair, and Corrigin farmer, Simon Wallwork said "Western Australian farmers are on the frontline of a changing climate, and are already experiencing the direct impacts of climate change on productivity and profitability."
"AgZero has advocated a clear position that the externality costs posed to Western Australian agriculture and our rural communities through the extension of this polluting project are completely unacceptable.
"Western Australian farmers are adaptive innovators who are doing an extraordinary job leading the way in maintaining production in the face of the warming, drying and more extreme conditions we have experienced to date.
"Extending the life of fossil fuel projects is a slap in the face to the farmers and rural communities who are already experiencing so many direct impacts."
"AgZero sought a meeting with the new Federal Environment Minister during his recent visit to Perth, hoping to ensure that the voices of Western Australian farmers would be able to be heard on this critical issue. Our request to meet with the Minister was denied.
"The conditional approval of this project indicates the full extent to which our Federal Environment laws are broken. The ability of the Federal Minister to conditionally approve this project in the face of so much community concern and with such externality risks to our farming futures clearly shows that Australia's Environmental laws need to be dramatically improved.
"We look forward to being granted that opportunity to meet with the Federal Environment Minister, and to contributing to a legislative shift in which projects that pose a truly unacceptable risk to our industry are no longer able to be approved."
1438 AWST
Conservation Council of WA: this is not the end
1433 AWST
Murray Watt reacts to UNESCO decision
Reacting to the news that UNESCO intends to refuse the application to have the Murujuga region listed as a world heritage site, environment minister Murray Watt, said the Albanese government is "disappointed" noting it is only at this stage a draft decison.
"We will work constructively with the World Heritage Centre to ensure the factual inaccuracies that influenced the draft decision are addressed. We will strongly advocate to the World Heritage Committee to reconsider the nomination when it meets.
"For over 50,000 years, Traditional Custodians have protected and managed this significant land and seascape. Murujuga deserves to be recognised and protected within the World Heritage system, with a rock art collection estimated at between one to two million petroglyphs. We will be enthusiastically pursuing this outcome.
"This is a complex site; none would deny that. It is disappointing that the draft decision is heavily influenced by claims made in the media and correspondence from non-government organisations, rather than scientific and other expert evidence.
"It is also disappointing that Traditional Custodians were not consulted or given an opportunity to respond to proposed recommendations, despite their strong desire for World Heritage listing. We will work hard to ensure the Traditional Custodians' voices are heard in the deliberations of the World Heritage Committee.
1431 AWST
Australian Conservation Foundation speak out
1405 AWST
Greens Australia senator Sarah Hanson-Young: "devastating"
"It is devastating that so soon after the public elected one of the most progressive parliaments in Australia's history, the new Environment Minister's first act in the job has been approving one of the biggest, dirtiest gas projects in Australia out to 2070.
"It beggars belief that right after being exposed for spilling 16,000 litres of toxic oil into our oceans, the Government has rewarded Woodside with a green light to continue unleashing pollution for decades to come at North-West Shelf.
"This will be an environmental disaster - unleashing gas pollution on a huge scale, destroying cultural heritage and threatening pristine ecosystems like Scott Reef, home to threatened endangered species like the green sea turtle and the pygmy blue whale.
"It is clear our environmental laws are broken. The Government has a choice this term - to work with the Greens in the Senate to insert a climate trigger into laws and ensure dirty projects are properly assessed for their impacts, or continue approving toxic coal and gas that sends our climate to collapse."
1404 AWST
WWF Australia responds
1359 AWST
WA Greens' senator Sophie McNeill: "a shameful day."
WA Greens climate change spokesperson Sophie McNeill said: "This is a deeply shameful day for the Australian Labor Party.
"Today, they have made it absolutely clear that they care more about Woodside's profits than they do about the future of our kids and our planet.
"Any tiny inch of climate credibility Labor has left has been destroyed by this disgraceful decision. Labor is ignoring traditional custodians, scientists, independent experts and the communities they were elected to represent.
"Minister Watt made his decision on this project even quicker than Peter Dutton vowed he would.
"How can Minister Watt look his kids in the eye and tell them that today he approved an enormous new fossil fuel project until 2070?
"Our reefs are bleaching in WA, there's deadly floods in NSW, a toxic algal bloom off South Australia that's killing thousands of rays, sharks and seahorses - and federal Labor simply does not give a shit.
"The fight against this project has only just begun. Minister Watt and the rest of his cowardly Labor colleagues will regret the day they chose Woodside profits over our kids' future."
1357 AWST
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson: "simply criminal"
"It is quite simply criminal that at this time of historic climate breakdown one of the nation's biggest and dirtiest fossil fuel projects is extended for another 45 years. What is it that Labor doesn't understand about the climate crisis?
"Look at what our oceans are telling us – just south of where Labor has detonated this climate bomb is World Heritage protected Ningaloo Reef, which has just suffered its worst mass coral bleaching on record due to warming oceans caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
"Labor's North West Shelf extension will make the unfolding tragedy in our oceans worse. The extension enables the exploitation of the Browse gas field which will risk one of the richest marine environments on the planet: Scott Reef.
"It's a complete betrayal that Labor would rather risk endangered marine wildlife, destroy a remote ecological wonderland, and cook our planet than use its electoral success to stare down big fossil fuel companies. Clearly, Labor cares more about supporting big dirty corporations and its own power structures than it does about life on this planet and future generations."
1355 AWST
Environmental Justice Australia - "real climate bomb"
Environment Centre of Central Queensland president Christine Carlisle said: "This is a real climate bomb. It's an act of willful environmental vandalism and a betrayal of future generations.
"We're devastated that our new Environment Minister's first big move will be to sign off on forty more years of fossil fuels. Senator Watt has just told Australians that protecting our climate and our iconic wildlife isn't his job."
"This project will fuel climate chaos for decades."
1340 AWST
Australian Greens: minister fails first test
Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters, said: "In approving Woodside's carbon bomb, the re-elected government and the new Environment Minister have failed their first climate test.
"This North West Shelf extension has been Labor's single most important coal and gas decision to date. It will release more pollution each year than all of Australia's coal stations combined and run for 45 more years.
"Sacrificing the oldest art gallery on the planet for Woodside's private profits while the Hunter has just experienced a 1 in 500 year flood event shows the climate madness this decision is.
"Approving fossil fuels out to 2070 totally undermines the government's commitment to net zero by 2050, which is already too late for a safe climate future.
"Minister Watt approved the extension with ‘strict conditions', but with Woodside already under investigation for an oil spill off the WA coast, we have little confidence those conditions will be complied with.
"This is just the first step of Woodside's Burrup Hub expansion. Next they will want to frack the Kimberley and sink the nesting grounds of turtles at Scott Reef. The Greens will fight to stop those gas basins being opened up with every fibre of our being.
"We will be encouraging environment groups to take legal action against this approval, and we support Raelene Cooper in her cultural heritage litigation.
"This approval will mean supercharged floods, fires and species extinctions.
"The Greens will keep fighting for strong climate action, and an end to new coal and gas."
1336 AWST
Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility responds
Alex Hillman, Lead Analyst of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) said: "The main reason Woodside wants the extension of the North West Shelf is to develop its Browse project. Something it has been trying, and failing, to do for over 50 years.
"Browse is the kind of project that should not go ahead. Browse does not make commercial or emissions sense.
"Woodside's board has shown no ability to constrain its persistent and misguided pursuit of low-value fossil fuel projects, and this decision from government only serves to encourage it in the wrong direction.
"Investors will have to step up and play a vital role in restraining this company from making more poor decisions.
"Woodside and its partners have spent well over US$2.3 billion already on Browse. If Woodside was carefully stewarding its investors' capital, it would have stopped working on this financial black hole of a project a long time ago.
"At full capacity, the North West Shelf would emit over 3 gigatonnes over its extended lifespan. Whilst there is major flooding in New South Wales and a major drought in South Australia, these are emissions that are going to cause Australians and investment portfolios further harm as the physical impacts of climate change increase.
"The International Energy Agency and Bloomberg New Energy Finance are projecting an LNG glut later this decade, meaning there is no commercial justification to add further LNG supply – and there is certainly no climate justification. Even if there was, Browse is more expensive than 70% of competing potential new gas supplies around the world."
1331 AWST
Climate Council releases video interview with Climate Councillor and former North West Shelf BP manager Greg Bourne
1318 AWST
Woodside releases a statement
In a statement released by the Perth-based gas company, Woodside and the North West Shelf Joint Venture said they welcome the Federal Government's proposed decision to grant environmental approval for the North West Shelf Project Extension.
Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Australia Liz Westcott said the proposed Federal Government approval will provide certainty for the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project following rigorous assessments and appeals.
"This proposed approval will secure the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf and the thousands of direct and indirect jobs that it supports.
"This nationally significant infrastructure has supplied reliable and affordable energy to Western Australia for 40 years and international customers for 35 years and will be able to continue its contribution to energy security.
"Since starting operations in 1984, the North West Shelf Project has paid over A$40 billion in royalties and taxes, and supported regional development opportunities in the Pilbara."
Woodside has received the proposed Federal conditions which relate to matters including cultural heritage management and air quality. We recognise the significance of these matters and are reviewing the proposed conditions to understand their application.
We remain committed to protecting the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and support its World Heritage nomination. We believe long-term co-existence between cultural heritage and industry is possible when guided by credible science, Traditional Custodian leadership, and genuine collaboration.
As part of the State Government approval in December 2024, the North West Shelf committed to a range of environmental management measures, including a significant reduction in air emissions and measures to manage greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce them over time.
In addition, meaningful consultation with Traditional Owners is occurring as part of these conditions, including complying with all air quality objectives and standards arising from the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program.
The North West Shelf Project has supplied more than 6000 petajoules of domestic gas, powering homes and industry in Western Australia. If used for just household electricity, this is enough to power homes in a city the size of Perth for approximately 175 years.
Over four decades, the project has paid more than A$40 billion in royalties and excise, provided employment and contracting opportunities to the Pilbara and broader Western Australian community, and invested well over A$300 million in social and community infrastructure within the city of Karratha.
1311 AWST
WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry reaction
CCIWA Chief Executive, Peter Cock, the approval will give certainty to the project's proponents, industry, and the broader community.
"Reliable gas supplies underpin much of WA's industry and economic activity," Dr Cock said.
"The North West Shelf extension will secure Australia's gas supplies for decades to come, supporting our economy and keeping costs down for families.
"Gas also has around half the carbon emissions of coal in electricity generation, so will be an essential source of energy as we make the transition to renewables."
"Gas supports industries including iron ore mining, manufacturing, construction, food production, water desalination and products like fertilisers," he said.
"It also provides affordable and reliable electricity to the grid, keeping the lights on during surges like heatwaves with lower emissions than coal.
"A gas shortage would have devastating impacts on industry and households, but also on our nation's ability to make the leap to renewables."
"Woodside should be commended for the detailed and patient work that has led to this outcome, satisfying both state and federal environmental regulators to allow the project to go ahead, subject to strict conditions," he said.
"Six years is an unacceptable length of time for a project like this to be in limbo.
"The companies that back major projects like this need certainty. If projects are allowed to languish for years in approval pipelines in Australia, investors will simply look elsewhere."
"It is simply not rigorous or efficient to have state and federal approvals for projects like this duplicated and running on different timelines.
"It doesn't lead to better outcomes for the environment. It simply adds cost and complexity for investors and creates uncertainty for the economy.
"That is why we welcome the Federal Government's renewed efforts to deliver sensible environmental approval reforms."
1307 AWST
Traditional owner: "see you in court"
In response to minister Watt's announcement, Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper, a former Chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said: "See you in Court.
"I'm not on my own, I'm bringing warriors from this ngurra with me."
As reported, Cooper has launched a legal action to compel Watt to address her section 10 application to protect the Murujuga rock art.
1302 AWST
Unions welcome Watt's announcement
Paul Farrow, National Secretary, Australian Workers' Union (AWU), said: "Minister Watt's announcement correctly prioritises and secures the future of well paid union jobs in WA and secures supply of a crucial transition fuel we need as more renewable energy sources like wind and solar come online.
"Today's decision to maintain a stable, operational project employing well over a thousand hydrocarbons workers in well-paid jobs is a victory for common sense and allows our members to continue their important work for years to come.
"Although most of the gas produced by the NWS Project is sent overseas, the Project also provides a significant amount of gas domestically. Western Australians, from Broome to Bunbury, can now continue to rely upon this essential fuel into the future.
Brad Gandy, Secretary, Australian Workers' Union WA Branch and Offshore Alliance spokesperson, said: "Thanks to the tireless campaigning of members of the Offshore Alliance – an organising alliance between the AWU and the MUA - most workers on this project are covered by union-negotiated industry leading enterprise agreements. Those jobs are now set to continue for many more years, securing the future of hundreds of our members and their families.
"What Minister Watt has done today ensures these union wages will continue to flow into communities in north-west WA for decades to come. The Alliance encouraged Minister Watt to approve the NWS life extension on behalf of our members and we are pleased that he has made the right decision. In doing so, Minister Watt appears to recognise the value of workers and their unions and we trust that our Federal Resources Minister takes note of this. All Federal Ministers should respect and acknowledge the value of workers within this important industry.
"To transition to a Net Zero future we need fuels for firming capacity as renewable energy sources are built and connected to the grid, and our members are very proud to be a crucial part of that transition.
Will Tracey, Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia WA Branch, added: "We welcome the decision by Minister Watt to extend the life of the NWS Project. Offshore Alliance members have worked hard to unionise their workplaces and they will now continue to enjoy their superior, union-negotiated terms and conditions of employment going forward.
"We expect that Woodside will ensure that the work on this Project will be performed by suitably qualified Australian workers who are directly engaged by Woodside or by a reputable contractor that engages workers on industry standard pay and conditions."
1258 AWST
Murujuga Traditional Owner: "Juukan Gorge in slow motion"
Josie Alec, a TO from the Murujuga region, said: "What's happening to the rock art at Murujuga is like Juukan Gorge in slow motion.
"The UNESCO World Heritage nomination of the rock art will be a farce if 40 more years of acid pollution is allowed to damage the petroglyphs at Murujuga.
"As the First Nations Lead at ACF I am appalled of the lack of community consultation before making this decision.
"Environment Minister Watt should do everything in his power to protect the rock art, not protect the gas industry."
1256 AWST
The Australian Conservation Foundation expresses "bitter disappointment"
"This is a bitterly disappointing decision that locks in decades more climate pollution and will drive demand to open new gas fields," said ACF CEO Kelly O'Shanassy.
"That the gas is destined for export makes no difference to its climate impact. It will be felt by Australians through more intense and frequent extreme weather events like bushfires, heatwaves, floods and coral deaths.
"Woodside is seeking this extension so it can drill gas from the proposed Browse gas field at Scott Reef, further fuelling global heating.
"It is hard to understand how a government that prides itself on its climate credentials can think it's OK to approve a fossil fuel project that aims to still be producing climate-damaging pollution when Minister Watt and I are in our nineties.
"When a baby born this week is 45 years old, the North West Shelf will still be polluting, if Woodside gets its way.
"Approving the expansion of fossil fuel projects is the opposite of climate action.
"The ancient World Heritage-nominated petroglyphs at Murujuga may not be visible in 2070 if acid emissions from Woodside's Burrup gas hub keep deteriorating the rocks' surface.
"ACF and many others will continue to vigorously oppose the expansion of the gas industry, including the exploitation of the Browse climate bomb gas field at Scott Reef."
1255 AWST
Australia Institute calls out financial implications
1250 AWST
Federal teal MP Kate Chaney says approval "exposes broken environmental laws."
1247 AWST
Queensland senator says approval is "nothing short of suicidal."
Labor's decision to supercharge the climate crisis by approving Woodside's North West Shelf expansion is nothing short of suicidal.
Coal and gas is the number one cause of runaway global heating - an existential threat to the survival of life on Earth.
It's utter madness.— Penny Allman-Payne (@senatorpennyqld) May 28, 2025
1245 AWST
Climate Council reacts
1237 AWST
Australia's scientific community condemns the NWS plan
In today's national newspapers, hot on the heels of the dressing down dished out yesterday by Professor Ben Smith from the University of Western Australia over the report into the impact of emissions on the Murujuga rock art, a group of more than 50 leading scientists had put their name to an open letter calling on Minister Murray Watt to refuse Woodside's application.
Addressed directly to the new environment minister Murray Watt, the letter — which describes North West Shelf project as a "substantial contributor to global emissions" — reads: "Science shows that the use of all fossil fuels, including gas, must decline imminently if warming is to be limited to 1.5C. The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its Net Zero Emissions (NZE) roadmap calls for the end to new fossil fuel resource development as this would be inconsistent with meeting the Paris Agreement's long-term temperature goal.
"For gas, the International Energy Agency's 2023 NZE roadmap shows gas use needs to be declining already at 2% per year towards 2030 with the decline accelerating to 8% per year globally between 2030 and 2040.
"Recent research shows that the present expansion of LNG capacity globally vastly exceeds levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5C and is more consistent with a global warming outcome of 3C. This research shows that the LNG capacity greatly exceeds any needs for coal to gas switching as part of 1.5C compatible energy transitions.
"…We call on Federal Minister Watt to reject the North West Shelf Project extension."
1232 AWST
Pacific nation reaction
Woodside's plan to extend the life of its North West Shelf project was yesterday attacked by Tuvalu's climate minister, Dr Maina Talia, who signalled pulling support for Australia to host the COP31 if the controversial application is approved, suggesting the future of the island nation will be directly impacted by the project's longevity.
"Pacific leaders have made it clear: there is no future for our nations if fossil fuel expansion continues. The North West Shelf Extension would lock in emissions until 2070, threatening our survival and violating the spirit of the Pacific-tuakoi (neighbour) climate partnership.
"This goes beyond politics; it is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change," Talia said.
"If Australia wants to host COP31 with us, it must uphold the trust we placed in it by permanently rejecting this project. This goes beyond politics. It is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change."
A recently released analysis by The Australia Institute says the emissions from Woodside's Burrup Hub expansion — which includes the North West Shelf Extension — would be greater than all the emissions from all of Australia's coal power stations each year.
Report authors Mark Ogge and Rod Campbell said: "Gas exports from WA already result in more emissions than all of Australia's coal power stations, making WA, and the rest of the world, hotter and more dangerous.
"Woodside's proposed 50-year NWS Extension…would add around 4.3 billion tonnes of emissions to the atmosphere over its lifetime and the entire Burrup Hub expansion would add over 5 billion tonnes."
1228 AWST
What's happened?
The Albanese government has given in-principle approval for the life extension of Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, a major step for Australia's largest and oldest LNG project as it seeks to remain in operation beyond its current 2030 approval deadline.
Environment Minister Murray Watt has today conditionally approved the continuation of the project, subject to "strict conditions" relating to air emissions and their potential impact on the nearby Murujuga rock art — one of the world's most significant collections of ancient petroglyphs.
"My responsibility is to consider the acceptability of the project's impact on protected matters," Watt said in a statement.
"I have ensured that adequate protection for the rock art is central to my proposed decision."
The decision follows months of scrutiny and scientific review into how continued gas processing operations at the Karratha Gas Plant might affect national heritage-listed rock art across the Dampier Archipelago, amid growing calls from Traditional Owners and environmental groups to halt new fossil fuel approvals.
Watt noted that both economic and cultural factors were weighed, including submissions from the public and expert advice.
The proposed conditions are understood to impose tighter controls on emissions and require more rigorous monitoring.
Woodside has 10 business days to respond before a final decision is made.
The Karratha Gas Plant is central to Australia's LNG export industry and forms part of the broader North West Shelf project, which has been operating since the 1980s and is jointly owned by Woodside, BHP, BP, Chevron, Shell and Japan Australia LNG.
A final approval would pave the way for the facility to continue processing third-party gas from projects such as Scarborough and Browse well into the 2030s.
1223 AWST
Murujuga's bid to become a world heritage site hits the buffers
In a separate development which might be quietly welcomed in industry circles — particularly Woodside HQ — the United Nations is set to reject World Heritage listing for the Murujuga rock art on the Burrup Peninsula.
However, to add to the complexity around the issue, the UN decision is due to the damage caused to approximately two million rock art engravings, or petroglyphs, by industrial pollution.
In the agenda for July's meeting of the body, which assesses World Heritage nominations, is a recommendation to send the Murujuga nomination back to the WA government to, among other things, remove "degrading acidic emissions" from the area.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's climate campaigner Piper Rollins said says the UN body has identified the North West Shelf gas hub as the primary risk to the Murujuga rock art.
"UNESCO is essentially saying to the Albanese government: you can't have your cake and eat it. You are going to have to choose between World Heritage or Woodside's toxic gas extension. The two cannot coexist.
"Woodside's facility is scheduled to shut down in a few years. That's what should happen. It should not be extended," she said.
In a report from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the principal advisory body to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters, also calls into question the efficacy of the current regulatory frameworks — including Australia's primary nature law, the EPBC Act — to protect Murujuga.
"ICOMOS considers that legal systems such as the EPBC Act are not enough to ensure the sustainable protection of the cultural attributes located within the industrial areas in the absence of a buffer zone," the report says.
1219 AWST
Greenpeace's response
David Ritter, CEO at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: "This is a terrible decision that brings Woodside's destructive gas drills one step closer to Scott Reef, a magnificent marine ecosystem that is home to threatened species like pygmy blue whales and green sea turtles.
"The North West Shelf facility is one of Australia's dirtiest and most polluting fossil fuel projects. This approval brings Woodside's toxic gas plans closer to Scott Reef, holds back the clean energy transition underway in WA, and fuels growing climate damage in Australia and around the world.
"In the 1970s, Gough Whitlam led the initial charge to protect the Great Barrier Reef from oil drilling. It's unthinkable today that we would allow a multinational company to drill for fossil fuels on the Great Barrier Reef, yet that is what Woodside plans to do at Scott Reef. The Albanese government has an opportunity to define its ocean legacy by protecting Scott Reef from Woodside's destruction.
"Despite what the gas lobby says, the reality is we don't need more polluting gas. We're over 40% towards powering Australia with clean renewable energy and setting our industry and communities up for clean jobs and economic growth — not pretending that the old polluting ways can just continue.
"A healthy, thriving environment is good for us all: business, nature and WA communities. The Albanese government's next decision on whether or not to approve Woodside's Browse proposal will show Australians the true colours of the government — we urge Minister Watt to stand up for nature and oceans and reject Woodside plans to drill at Scott Reef."
1200 AWST
Murray Watt releases his long awaited statement
