Kimberley fracking project sparks most highly contested EPA decision in WA history
A record number of appeals have been lodged against the WA Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) decision to recommend approval of Black Mountain Energy’s fracking project in the Kimberley, signaling widespread community opposition.
More than 8000 community members and groups made submissions ahead of the appeals period closing on Tuesday 10 February, making it the most highly contested EPA decision in Western Australia’s history.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said the community’s outrage reflected serious risks posed by the proposal. Many Traditional Owners and Custodians whose countries are in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment would be impacted by the project and have called for it to be rejected.
“The Kimberley is home to the most pristine tropical savannah woodlands anywhere in the world, spectacular waterfalls and gorges, and wildlife seen nowhere else on earth,” Mr Pritchard said.

The Kimberley's Martuwarra Fitzroy River under threat. Photo: Alex Westover.
"Black Mountain Energy’s application to the EPA admits that the chemicals they would pump into the ground can cause severe burns, genetic mutations and organ toxicity to name a few."
“Thousands of community members are standing up to say the Kimberley is worth protecting, and we won’t allow Texan-owned Black Mountain Energy to destroy its unique splendor.”
Lock the Gate WA State Campaign Coordinator Simone van Hattem said: “We’re campaigning in six WA electorates and the results from door-knocking are very clear — more than 90% of voters want Premier Cook and Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn to act urgently to ban fracking in the Kimberley. Fracking is a vote-shifting issue. We don't want to take it to the next election, but if we have to we will.

Community members at the EPA Appeals Convenor's office call for a Minister Swinbourn to reject the proposal.
“The EPA has failed to do its due diligence in approving Valhalla, so the people of Western Australia have made their voices heard. We trust Minister Swinbourn will hear the evidence – that this project cannot go ahead without polluting waterways and damaging the local environment.”
The previous WA EPA appeals record was 727 for Woodside’s Northwest Shelf project. More than 800 of the Valhalla project appeals are from the Kimberley.
Kimberley community calls on Minister Swinbourn to reject fracking
There was a very strong turnout in Broome recently to protest the EPA decision to recommend fracking by Texan company Black Mountain at its proposed Valhalla project – over 130 people came at short notice.
“It’s very clear that people here are shocked and outraged at the EPA recommendation to allow fracking in the Kimberley. This is the worst decision the EPA has made in years. The calls were very strong to the Minister for the Environment Matthew Swinbourn to reject Texan company Black Mountain’s Valhalla fracking project.
The community doesn’t want the Kimberley turned into Texan gasfields and the risk to our clean water, threatened species and the National Heritage listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River is too high. Ultimately the Premier, Roger Cook, needs to take leadership here and ban fracking in the Kimberley like its banned in the southwest and Perth. ” said Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard.
A big crowd attended the protest calling on Minister for the Environment Matthew Swinbourn to reject the Valhalla fracking project Photo - Hazel Blake
Yawuru/Djukun Traditional Custodian Janet Puertollano said at the protest -
“ I fear the Valhalla fracking project would be devastating for the Martuwarra Fitzroy River and the communities that rely on it.
This fracking project risks a vital water source in the Fitzroy River catchment, with long-term consequences for Aboriginal children. This river is the lifeblood of the Kimberley, it’s not just water, it’s a place to swim, learn and a vital food source for many residents along it.”
“We will be appealing the EPA’s decision and we expect there will be a record number, people from all over the country are absolutely gobsmacked about this recommendation,"said EK Director Martin Pritchard.
“Our grounds of appeal include that the EPA has failed to adequately assess risks to threatened species, risks to human health and social surrounds, including toxic chemicals, risks of climate change and extreme weather and has ignored advice from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee established by the Commonwealth government.”
The WA Labor Party voted unanimously to ban fracking in WA at the state conference a couple of months ago. Labor Party members vote for fracking ban to be extended across all parts of WA
Bunuba Traditional Owner Millie Hills said -
“The WA government needs to stop this industry before it gets started, this type of development is a huge risk to the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment. People don’t come to the Kimberley to see gas fields; they come to see unspoilt nature and experience our ancient culture.
“The Premier Roger Cook needs to show some leadership here and stop Black Mountain’s 20 well fracking proposal and ultimately ban fracking in the Kimberley to stop it looking like Texas.
Ms Pat Riley, a Nyikina woman from Pandanus Park at the lower reaches of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River said –
“We don’t want to see fracking in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment. Our community is at the end of the river and any pollution from fracking upstream will affect us, we want a clean, healthy river.”
Media
Kimberley fracking plan sparks protest - West Australian
'Seriously wrong': activists condemn fracking decision - AAP
Top image - Damian Kelly
New national environment laws: some wins, but a big fail for the Kimberley on climate
New national environment laws: some wins, but a big fail for the Kimberley on climate
The new national environment laws, announced today and set to be passed by the Federal Parliament, include some improvements such as making forest logging subject to the new Act and closing loopholes for land clearing in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, but overall the improvements are not enough to stop the steep decline in nature, particularly in the Kimberley.
The Greens managed to stop the ‘water trigger’ assessments for fracking being handed to the states and territories. They also helped prevent the fast-tracking of oil and gas projects.
“The Greens managed to save some of the furniture, but there’s a massive fight ahead to ensure that the National Environment Standards are strong and that regional plans don’t allow the fast-tracking of industrial projects and land clearing across the Kimberley,” said Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard.

The Kimberley's Danggu Geikie Gorge. Photo: Adam Monk.
“What we don’t want to see is the new Act just handing powers to the WA Government, given the Cook Government’s track record on weakening the state’s Environment Protection Act and bringing a development Czar who can override environmental assessments and wave them through without rigorous scrutiny,” Mr Pritchard said.
“The new national environment laws are a once-in-a-generation reform, and the Albanese Government has squandered the opportunity to bring oil and gas projects under emissions scrutiny in the new Act,” he said.
“The Kimberley is the only region on the continent that hasn’t had mammal extinctions, and it has the largest, most intact tropical savannah in the world, but it’s going to be the most impacted by climate change – the new act does nothing to mitigate that.”
“The recent National Climate Risk Assessment is showing the Kimberley will be uninhabitable on current climate projections. This would mean Traditional Owners, who’ve lived here for thousands of years, will be climate refugees, yet the new environment Act will not look at the climate impacts of fossil fuel projects.”

Threatened bilbies. Photo: Damian Kelly.
“Fitzroy Crossing, which already has 67 days a year over 40°C, is projected to have 225 days a year over 40°C by 2090 on current emissions projections.”
“The Kimberley has two of the largest climate threats in the country – Woodside’s Browse Basin proposal at Scott Reef, and Black Mountain’s Valhalla fracking proposal in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment. These projects won’t be captured by the new laws, and that’s a travesty for nature and people in the Kimberley.”
“What these new laws show is that it is still going to take massive people power to protect the nature of the Kimberley.”
Help protect the Kimberley by becoming a member of Environs Kimberley here.
Header photo: The Kimberley's Martuwarra Fitzroy River. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.
Traditional Owners travel the length of WA to urge Premier Cook to legislate a fracking ban in the Kimberley
Kimberley Traditional Owners travelled to WA Premier Roger Cook's office in his electorate at Kwinana to call for a legislated ban on fracking for the iconic Kimberley region.
The call comes after WA Labor members voted for a statewide ban on the dangerous and polluting gas extraction technique at the party’s State Conference on Saturday.
The decision to heed the party’s position, and make the statewide fracking ban a legislated reality, now sits with Premier Cook.

Traditional Owners urge Premier Cook to legislate a fracking ban in the Kimberley. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.
The Labor conference vote and Traditional Owner visit come at a critical time for the Kimberley. WA’s Environment Protection Authority is expected to make a decision in coming weeks on Texan company Black Mountain’s Valhalla fracking project in the National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment, east of Broome.
If approved, fracking in the Kimberley could start as early as next year. Black Mountain would have permission to drill and frack 20 ‘test’ wells, with expectations that the company would ultimately drill hundreds and possibly thousands more, industrialising the Kimberley beyond recognition.
Traditional Owner from the Kimberley, Madeleine Jadai said, “We welcome the Labor Party decision on the weekend to ban fracking in the Kimberley. Our Country means everything to us and we are totally against anything that would damage and pollute it, like fracking.
“We’ve come from the Kimberley to let the Premier Roger Cook know we now want his government to take the next step and ban fracking.
“We’ve come to his Kwinana office to let him know how much this means to us. Premier Cook: please ban fracking on our land so we can have it safe for future generations.”

Traditional Owners called for a legislated ban on fracking in the Kimberley region. Photo: Martin Pritchard.
Environs Kimberley executive director Martin Pritchard said, “The Labor Party endorsing a ban on fracking in the Kimberley on the weekend was a huge shift. Now, the work begins to make the ban government policy and legislation, and we stand with Traditional Owners to protect Country and make it happen.”
A critical chance to ban fracking in the Kimberley
We need your help! This coming weekend Saturday (8 Nov) WA Labor representatives will be meeting in Fremantle to vote on a motion to ban fracking at their biannual conference.
This is a critical opportunity for us to change the government's policy and secure a permanent fracking ban in the Kimberley. We have been working towards this point for years and we wouldn’t be here without your help.
We have created this petition to help put pressure on your local Labor member (if you're in a Labor seat) to support and lobby for a ban on fracking. This is a critical opportunity to ask members to do everything they can to pass this motion.
Based on your postcode it will email this letter to your local Labor member (feel free to personalise it). After filling out your details please share this on your social media and text it to your friends. We need to continue send a strong message to WA Labor that we want to ban fracking in the Kimberley.
Together we can achieve a ban on fracking!

Image: Traditional Owners Madeleine and Nuriah Jadai at Parliament House frack free Kimberley rally in Perth
Hundreds Rally at WA Parliament Demanding Cook Government Expand Fracking Ban to the Kimberley
Kimberley Traditional Owners Rally with Hundreds at WA Parliament Demanding the Cook Government Expand Fracking Ban to the Kimberley as EPA Decides
More than 500 West Australians have rallied outside WA Parliament in Perth today with Kimberley Traditional Owners, demanding the Roger Cook Government permanently ban fracking in the state’s Kimberley.

Hundreds rallied to ask the Cook Government to ban fracking in the Kimberley. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.
The community is also calling on the Cook Government to urgently reject Texan company Black Mountain Energy’s twenty-well “Valhalla” fracking project in the West Kimberley near Derby, which is undergoing state and federal environmental assessment.
“Valhalla” is the most progressed of any fracking proposal in the state and would involve the drilling of 20 test wells in the heart of the Kimberley’s Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment. Black Mountain Energy has stated they want to send fracked gas from the Kimberley to the Pilbara. This would lead to thousands of oil and gas wells across the globally famed natural landscapes of the region.

A photo at the rally showing Mt Hardman Creek, a Kimberley waterway in the vicinity of proposed fracking. Photo: Nick Doyle.
The WA EPA has decided on its recommendation to the Minister for the Environment, Matthew Swinbourn, and is currently preparing its advice to send to him.
Today’s rally is the most significant show of opposition to fracking since 2018, when the McGowan Government permanently banned fracking in the Perth, Peel, Southwest, and Dampier Peninsula areas of the state, but inexplicably not the rest of the Kimberley.

Hundreds rallied at WA Parliament. Photo: Martin Pritchard.
Mangala Martu Traditional Owner Nuriah Jadai said:
“We have a responsibility to look after our Country in the Kimberley. When the Country is alive, our culture is alive. The land means so much more to us than money.”
“Fracking for oil and gas threatens everything that’s important to us. We do not want to risk our springs and waterways with toxic chemicals and radioactive wastewater, and we don’t want to see our Country cut up and industrialised.
“The Labor Government keeps saying there’s a veto for Traditional Owners, this is not true. There is no veto for test fracking, and the government hasn’t put any legislation in place for a veto.
“We’re calling on the Premier Roger Cook to ban fracking on our Country in the Kimberley, like his government has done in the southwest of WA. Are we not as important as the people of the southwest?”

Mangala Martu Traditional Owner Nuriah Jadai holds a frack free Kimberley sign at the rally. Photo: Nick Doyle.
Janet Holmes á Court, prominent West Australian and supporter of the arts said:
“The Kimberley is a place like no other, cherished by West Australians and the nation. To allow it to be turned into a fracking gasfield would be sacrilege. The Premier Roger Cook needs to ban fracking in the Kimberley, it’s the most destructive industry I’ve seen proposed for the place.”

Janet Holmes á Court addresses the rally. Photo: Reifanzo Photography.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said:
“There’s never been an opportunity like this for Premier Roger Cook and his Labor Government to ban fracking in the Kimberley. The community doesn’t want it, the vast majority of Traditional Owners don’t want it, and with fracking banned in the southwest of the state, it would be easy to extend the ban to the Kimberley.
“Surely the Labor Government is not going to open the Kimberley to this polluting and highly destructive industry and threaten the $500 million tourism industry, which supports hundreds of jobs in the remote region?
“If the Cook Government doesn’t ban this industry, then we’ll have no choice but to campaign hard in the seat of Fremantle again and extend that to other seats across the metro area at the next election.
“We’re not going to sit idly by and let the Kimberley be industrialised.”

Voters urge the Cook Labor Government to ban fracking in the Kimberley. Photo: Nick Doyle.
Lock the Gate Alliance WA spokesperson Simone van Hattem said:
“West Australians love the Kimberley: its stunning waterfalls, gorges, beaches, and unique wildlife. People come from all around the world to visit the majestic Kimberley, generating hundreds of millions for a thriving tourism industry.
“Destructive gas fracking poses a serious threat to the Kimberley. Full-scale gas fracking would mean thousands of gas wells, sucking billions of litres of water and risking catastrophic pollution and contamination.
“We’re calling on the Cook Government to ban fracking in the Kimberley. This is the moment for Premier Roger Cook to protect one of WA’s greatest natural and cultural treasures from being transformed into a frack-well pockmarked wasteland, like the gas and oil fields of the ruined Texan landscapes where Black Mountain is from.”

Photo: Reifanzo Photography.
Background:
Black Mountain Energy's 20-well Valhalla project proposal would be the first fracking operation anywhere in WA since the WA Government lifted the moratorium on fracking in 2018. If approved, it could open the door to thousands of gas wells across the region. Black Mountain Energy is comparing the Kimberley’s Canning Basin to the Permian Gas Basin in the US. The Permian has more than 190,000 oil and gas wells (see BME website here).

Photo: Nick Doyle.
Rally partners:
The rally was organised by Environs Kimberley and Lock the Gate Alliance, in partnership with Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Conservation Council of WA, and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Will the Roger Cook Labor Government sacrifice the Kimberley to industrialisation?
The Kimberley is renowned for its awe-inspiring landscapes, untarnished by industrialisation and urban sprawl, as well as the ancient living culture that continues to be practised here.
These are the mainstay of the economy, providing more than half a billion dollars in revenue and a significant portion of the region’s jobs. Just as importantly, the intact condition of the Kimberley underpins residents’ wellbeing and supports the natural world, with healthy populations of rare as well as common animals and plants.
“The Kimberley is home to some truly unique and spectacular attractions...Tens of thousands of tourists flock to this area every year to enjoy an unforgettable outback experience amidst a breathtaking landscape,” Minister for the Kimberley and Regional Development, Stephen Dawson said.

While the description sounds idyllic, successive state governments have failed to act to protect the region’s crucially important attributes.
Less than 8% of the land in the Kimberley is in protected areas that prohibit landclearing, oil and gas extraction and mining.
If you’ve been following our work for a while, you’ll have seen that fracking for oil and gas is a huge concern, as well as the push by the Woodside Joint Venture to drill around Scott Reef. These are totally inappropriate industries for a globally significant region. Less well known are the other threats to the Kimberley’s environment – its freshwater, tropical savannah, intact coastline, marine parks, threatened species and national-heritage listed landscapes. We list some of the threats in the map below – excessive irrigation, bauxite mining, sand mining, heavy mineral sands mining, oil and gas extraction and fish farming are at our door.
A new concern is applications by Ms Gina Rinehart for mining exploration leases on her Liveringa Station and Fossil Downs pastoral lease and surrounding leases through her company ‘Central Pilbara North Iron Ore’. We don’t know what Ms Rinehart wants to explore for but we will vigorously oppose any damaging mining proposals.
Former Liberal Premier Colin Barnett said in 2009 that the future of the Kimberley was mining. “Just as the Pilbara was critically important to the development of WA from the'60s, over the next 50 years the Kimberley will play a similar role."
At the March 2025 election, the WA Labor Government under Roger Cook gave no new commitments to protecting the natural environment here. The proposals in front of them now will be a major test of their Kimberley credentials and show us whether they will follow Colin Barnett in his fixation on industrialising the Kimberley, or protect the Kimberley’s breathtaking landscape and environment.
Sign the petition to ask Premier Cook to ban fracking in the Kimberley here.
Taxpayers at risk of paying to clean up decaying petroleum wells in iconic Kimberley bay
Sale of decaying petroleum wells puts taxpayers at risk of funding cleanup in iconic Kimberley bay
Community groups say the Cook Government must take urgent action to protect WA taxpayers from a multimillion dollar cleanup bill for stricken petroleum infrastructure within a heritage-listed Kimberley bay, after the responsible company was sold off for a fraction of its original value.
For years, community groups have called on the WA Government to force Rey Resources to clean up its decaying and corroding petroleum well infrastructure on the shores of King Sound, part of the National Heritage listed West Kimberley National Heritage Place.
Photos of the degraded and partially inaccessible wells are available here.

Point Torment. Photo: Supplied.
Rey Resources’ latest quarterly update (see page two) confirms that a $400,000 deal to “dispose” of subsidiary Gulliver Productions, which owned three petroleum tenements that included the stricken wells in and adjacent to King Sound, has been finalised.
Rey’s December 2024 quarterly report suggested there were yet to be met conditions (Page 3) as part of the deal to sell Gulliver to little-known overseas company China Guoxin Investment Holdings. Gulliver Productions was once valued at $4.8 million.
Documents obtained from the WA Mines and Petroleum department by Environs Kimberley through freedom of information laws revealed that in 2021, the three King Sound gas wells were corroding, there was oil staining on the ground, and a blow-out preventer was incorrectly positioned. The department identified 44 possible breaches in total, however it is unclear what, if any, remediation work has occurred since inspection. The 2021 inspection report recommended issuing seven “directions notices” to Gulliver Productions, which were not issued at the time for unexplained reasons.
Media reports this morning that the department recently issued one “directions notice” requiring the company to conduct cleanup works.
Groups working to protect the Kimberley are now calling on the government to take much stronger action to protect the WA taxpayer, and King Sound itself.

Stokes Bay. Photo: Supplied.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said, “The Minister for Mines and Petroleum David Michael needs to take charge of this before we get into a ‘Northern Endeavour’ type situation. His department has allowed an obscure overseas company to take over petroleum leases for $400,000 that have potential clean-up liabilities of millions of dollars.
“We’re calling on Minister Michael to explain how taxpayers will not become liable for the clean-up costs. His department has already said that taxpayer liabilities for onshore oil and gas well clean-ups at two abandoned sites in the Kimberley amount to $2.9 million which is a significant underestimate in our view. See background below.
“Oil and gas companies appear to have free rein in the Kimberley to undertake exploration but it looks like existing legislation is failing to ensure that industry cleans up its mess. Millions of dollars of public funds are being spent on cleaning up the damage done by onshore oil and gas companies. Minister Michael needs to take charge here and stop this waste of taxpayer funds.”
Lock the Gate Alliance WA spokesperson Simone van Hattem said, “West Australians don’t want to see oil and gas companies destroy the majestic Kimberley.
“Right now, fossil fuels including fracking threaten the Kimberley, but this is a really good opportunity for the Cook Government to begin righting the wrongs that put this iconic region at risk.
“With the stroke of a pen, the Cook Government could make sure the threat of oil and gas in the heritage-listed King Sound environment is removed forever. It could make sure oil and gas never again threatens the water, land, and communities in this part of the Kimberley. It could be an important first step to banning fracking in the Kimberley altogether.
“The Cook Government should permanently remove these tenements. They never should have been approved in King Sound region in the first place.”

West Kora. Photo: Supplied.
Background: A $1.5 million estimate for the ex-New Standard Energy well in the southern Kimberley was made in 2021 (source here) and $1.4 million for the Vienta-1 and Waggon Creek-1 wells near Kununurra (See page 44) Given the three wells that are now owned by Guoxin are located in a sensitive and relatively inaccessible coastal environment, it’s logical to assume rehabilitation costs will be much greater.
Buru Energy must come clean with dirty oil and gas projects planned for Kimberley
Community members have staged a colourful protest at oil and gas developer Buru Energy’s annual general meeting in Perth today, accusing the company of a lack of transparency over its failure to refer its west Kimberley projects to WA’s environment watchdog.
Groups working to protect the Kimberley are aware Buru Energy’s projects are at advanced planning stages, yet have not been referred to the state’s EPA.
Photos and a video of the protest are available here.
Buru Energy’s planned Kimberley projects include:
- Re-opening its polluting Ungani oil production facility and trucking oil through Broome or Derby for export;
- Opening a new conventional gas project, Rafael and producing LNG and condensate (light oil) for local use and/or export;
- Constructing new roads and pipelines;
- Potentially recommencing fracking at its Yulleroo gas lease near Broome.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said, “Buru Energy’s planned projects would result in the fossil fuel industrialisation of the Kimberley - a region that is famous around the world for its pristine nature. These projects would also use massive amounts of groundwater and emit huge volumes of climate pollution.
“Buru Energy also holds the Yulleroo unconventional gas field, where it has previously fracked and has not ruled out fracking there again in the future.
“The Kimberley has the largest most intact tropical savannah in the world and our aquifers, wetlands and waterways are pollution free, we need to make sure we keep it that way and fossil fuel projects are not compatible with our region.
“A full EPA assessment should be conducted to properly consider the individual, combined and cumulative environmental and social impacts of Buru Energy’s stated fossil fuel industrialisation plans.”

The community protests outside Buru Energy's AGM.
Lock the Gate Alliance WA spokesperson Claire McKinnon said, “Buru Energy wants to industrialise the west Kimberley with fossil fuel projects yet none of the company’s drilling plans have been referred to the WA environment watchdog in over a decade.
“We’re really concerned Buru Energy’s oil and gas projects will go under the radar unless they are referred for assessment and full public scrutiny.
“Buru Energy’s planned oil and gas projects would have a devastating impact on the Kimberley’s unique environment. Buru Energy has already faced criticism for bulldozing so much habitat in the Kimberley for grid seismic testing that if the clearing was arranged in a straight line, it would stretch more than halfway around the world.”
Kimberley fracking: Precedent-setting Commonwealth assessment welcome but level inadequate
A Kimberley gas fracking proposal by Texas-based Black Mountain Energy (BME), via subsidiary Bennett Resources, has been declared a Controlled Action by the Commonwealth Department of Environment, based on the project’s potential impacts on four Matters of National Environmental Significance, including the so-called ‘water trigger’.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said the decision was the first time a shale or tight gas fracking project in Australia has been designated a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act and subject to a final approval decision by the Federal Environment Minister.

Protest at Marrickville Town Hall – the Prime Minister’s electorate calling for a frack free Kimberley. Photo: Environs Kimberley.
“We are delighted that, thanks to massive community pressure, the ‘Valhalla’ project’s impacts on the world-renowned Kimberley are now subject to a final approval decision by Environment Minister Plibersek, taking into account its impacts on water, threatened species, migratory species and the National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River.
“The proposal should have been rejected outright by the Commonwealth as ‘clearly unacceptable’ and we are very disappointed that the level of assessment set – ‘by preliminary documentation’ – is very low and could be completed very rapidly with little or no new information.
“We will now be working overtime to ensure that the assessment is as rigorous as possible and that the Minister ultimately makes the right decision.

Mt Hardman Creek flows into the Martuwarra Fitzroy River – Black Mountain is proposing to frack 2 wells within 1km of the waterway. Photo: Environs Kimberley.
“There are many aspects of this decision that are unclear in terms of what the proponent is now required to do and how the community can continue to be engaged, and also how this relates to the ongoing WA EPA assessment of the project, but we will work through that with the Department in coming days.
“Given the clear information provided by scientists and the evidence we have of the global climate crisis, including coral bleaching in the Kimberley and Ningaloo right now, to allow the opening of a new oil and gas province would be unconscionable,” Mr Pritchard said.
“The carbon emissions from these twenty test fracking wells are equivalent to putting 1.5 million cars on the road for a year, we’re talking tonnes of toxic chemicals pumped under extreme pressure underground with billions of litres of water and radioactive wastewater.
“This is an industry that should be consigned to the dustbin of history.
“Minister Plibersek and the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese need to stand for the globally significant natural and cultural values of the Kimberley before it is too late. In 2021 they committed to World Heritage listing for areas of the Kimberley where Traditional Owners wanted it.
“History, and voters, will judge the Australian Labor Party incredibly harshly if they allow fracking in the world-renowned Kimberley.”