Darkest day in the 50 year history of WA environmental laws
The Environmental Protection Act Amendment Bill 2024 introduced into WA Parliament today will compromise the independence of the Environment Protection Authority and exacerbate WA’s climate and nature crises.
“The Premier’s assertion that reforms are needed due to ‘green tape strangling development’ is disingenuous in the extreme. Delays have come about due to the lack of resources and staff in the EPA and the WA government should take responsibility for that.”
“This is the darkest day in the 50 year history of environmental laws in WA,” said Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy Martin Pritchard.
“Increasing the EPA Board from 5 to 9 to stack it with mining, oil and gas and property development interests does not pass the pub test; we need environmentally-focused people whose primary interest is protecting the environment, not facilitating its destruction.”
“We understand that the government will also issue the EPA with what it calls ‘Statements of Expectation’, effectively directing the EPA to follow the government's priorities. This undermines the independence of our most important environment watchdog.”
“Removing the community’s right to appeal an EPA decision not to assess a project is a retrograde, anti-democratic step to appease industry and only benefits big business.”
The government’s changes will effectively strip the EPA of its independence at a time when we need to strengthen WA’s nature laws to defend nature and the places we love because of the unfolding climate change and extinction crisis.
“The Environmental Protection Act Amendment Bill 2024 is the Cook Labor government caving in to the mining, oil and gas and real estate industries instead of looking after WA’s nature which has a spiralling number of threatened species getting closer to extinction.”
Places like the Kimberley’s National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River and animals like threatened Bilbys, threatened turtles and whales, and the critically endangered Freshwater Sawfish are already at severe risk of extinction and need more protection, not less.
“We need a stronger EPA and environment laws. What is currently being proposed is exactly what Liberal Premier Colin Barnett wanted and we can’t believe the Labor Government is willing to gut our environmental laws to fast track damaging projects which will supercharge the multiple environmental crises we are facing.”
Woodside’s Browse oil and gas drilling plan for Scott Reef rejected by EPA
Woodside’s Browse oil and gas drilling plan for Scott Reef rejected by EPA
Oil and gas multinational Woodside’s Browse Basin project at Scott Reef with joint venture partners BP, Japan Australia LNG and PetroChina has suffered a huge blow after being rejected by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Congratulations to the EPA for a sensible first step in rejecting a terrible proposal.
Scott Reef. Pic: Alex Westover
The EPA have said the company’s plans to drill 50 oil and gas wells around the globally significant Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast has unacceptable impacts on endangered Blue Whales, be a threat to endangered Green Turtles, and risk pollution and oil spills at the highly biodiverse and fragile reef, according to reports made public today. The EPA considers these risks too high.
Scott Reef is a marine biodiversity hotspot that supports 29 marine mammal species including endangered Blue Whales. Nine hundred species of fish have been found at the reef and 1,500 species of invertebrates, including soft and hard corals, sponges and crustaceans. It is also a hotspot for sea snakes, including the elusive Dusky Sea Snake, which hasn’t been seen since 2002.
Save Scott Reef protest in Broome. Pic: Alex Westover.
“This proposal to drill 50 oil and gas wells around Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast, one of the most important marine hotspots in Australian waters, would be rejected out of hand at the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo, so it’s not surprising the WA EPA has rejected it,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley.
The WA EPA has been assessing this proposal for 5 years and, in a letter to Woodside, it has been reported that there could be unacceptable impacts on endangered Blue Whales, Green Turtles and the reef itself,” said Mr Pritchard.
Woodside withdrew its controversial plans for $80 billion LNG refineries on the Kimberley coast at James Price Point in 2013 after fierce opposition from locals and protests across the nation.
“The risks of destroying one of the world’s great coral reefs with oil and gas drilling are clearly too great, and we’re calling on Premier Roger Cook and Environment Minister Reece Whitby to also reject the threat to Scott Reef,” said Mr Pritchard.
It is understood that Woodside now has an opportunity to respond to the EPA, which will make its recommendation to the State Government. Both the State and Federal Governments will then make final decisions on whether or not the Browse project and drilling at Scott Reef can go ahead.
First shale gas fracking plan in Australia under Federal Environment Laws released - Faces Staunch Community Opposition in the Kimberley
First shale gas fracking plan in Australia under Federal Environment Laws released - Faces Staunch Community Opposition in the Kimberley
A new plan to drill and frack six oil and gas wells in the heart of the Kimberley’s National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment will face fierce widespread community opposition in the Kimberley to the environmentally destructive plan.
The fracking project plans were released on 24th July by Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water for public comment.
“This is the first shale gas fracking proposal referred under Federal environment laws. It will be the first test of the water trigger since amendments were made to include shale gas in December last year,” said Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy Martin Pritchard.
Kimberley residents protest the fracking plan in Broome. Pic: Danny Estcourt.
Black Mountain subsidiary Bennett Resources, owned by Texan billionaire Rhett Bennett, plans to turn the Kimberley’s Canning Basin into a US style oil and gas field.
While this proposal is for six wells, the ultimate goal is to develop a global scale oil and gas field using the highly polluting fracking technique pioneered in the 1990s in the US.
“Black Mountain have said they need a pipeline to the Pilbara. If they got such a pipeline they’d need thousands of oil and gas wells to feed it and pay for it. We’d be looking at a landscape industrialised by the oil and gas industry like they have in Texas and across North America,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley.
“Fracking uses vast quantities of water laced with poisonous chemicals pumped at extreme pressures through wells that pierce groundwater aquifers. Wastewater returned to the surface has been found to contain radioactive materials as well as a legion of carcinogenic compounds. This industry is incompatible with the globally significant natural values of the Kimberley,” Claire McKinnon from Lock the Gate said.
Three wells have been test-fracked in the Kimberley over the past 14 years and all have had problems, including documented well-integrity failures.
Wastewater ponds have overflowed in the monsoon season, spilling onto floodplains and endangering the plants and animals of the Kimberley.
The wells are close to tributaries of the National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River, the last stronghold of the critically endangered Freshwater Sawfish, and is a highly popular Barramundi fishing mecca.
“The community is outraged that this is being inflicted on the Kimberley particularly given the climate crisis we are living in. If we want a safe climate future we know it is vital not to open new oil and gas fields especially at the scale we could see in the Kimberley,” said Yisah Bin Omar from Seed, Australia’s first Indigenous youth-led climate network.
Oil and gas company Woodside abandoned plans to build gas refineries costing $80-billion at James Price Point in 2013 after national protests and community backlash in the Kimberley.
“We don’t want to see a James Price Point situation unfolding again here, The Albanese and Cook Governments must take action now and rule out fracking gasfields in the Kimberley,” said Mr Pritchard.
Photo: Danny Estcourt
Call on Commonwealth to protect Western Australia’s iconic Kimberley from fracking proposal
Kimberley fracking proposal referred to Commonwealth: Minister Plibersek must assess
Global tourism destination and nature and cultural icon, the Kimberley, is now in the sights of US oil and gas company Black Mountain Oil and Gas owned by Texan billionaire Rhett Bennett.
The company, via subsidiary Bennett Resources Ltd, has just referred a proposal for 6 frack wells to the Federal Environment Minister for a decision on whether a full Commonwealth assessment under the EPBC Act is required. The full proposal, currently under assessment by the WA EPA, is actually a 20 well fracking project.
Ultimately, if fracking is approved, Black Mountain will require a 1,100km gas pipeline to Pilbara LNG facilities for export which would potentially lead to thousands of oil and gas fracking wells across the Kimberley leading to global scale carbon emissions.
Martuwarra Fitzroy River (Pic: Damian Kelly)
The Minister’s decision on whether an EPBC assessment is required for the ‘Valhalla Project’ is open for public submissions for ten days.
“This proposal to open a new fracking province in the Kimberley, akin to the gas fields of Texas, is shocking to most Australians. The Albanese government has the obligation here, following a rigorous assessment, to reject the fracking proposal and protect one of the world’s last, large intact landscapes from a horrific future of industrialisation on a massive scale, said Environs Kimberley Director Martin Pritchard.
The ‘Valhalla’ proposal would clear habitat of the Greater Bilby which is listed as threatened under the EPBC Act. The fracking would require 100 million litres of groundwater per well leading to huge volumes of wastewater in the catchment of the National Heritage listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River. Two wells that have previously been fracked by Mitsubishi and Buru Energy on the same petroleum lease contained radioactive material in the wastewater.
The drilling and fracking is also in an area with complex underground geology and the region's groundwater aquifers are poorly understood.
“Ïf the Commonwealth is going to take its responsibilities seriously it needs to fully assess this proposal under the EPBC Act. We’re calling on the Minister Tanya Pilbersek to invoke the new water trigger law on this and make sure that Kimberley waterways, springs and groundwater are protected from fracking,” said Mr Pritchard.
Serious questions are being asked about the referred proposal including why the company has submitted a different proposal to the one under assessment by WA EPA with twenty frack wells.
““This company has been fined by ASIC for greenwashing and now they're referring to the Commonwealth a different project to what’s in front of the WA EPA - we’re calling on the highest level of scrutiny to be applied to this.”
Broome protest (Pic: Environs Kimberley)
Environs Kimberley was central to the successful campaign to protect the Kimberley coast from Woodside’s plans for gas refineries at James Price Point a decade ago. The eight-year campaign which gained international prominence led to Woodside and its joint venture partners abandoning the $80 billion project.
“We don’t want to see another James Price Point scenario”.
“This international nature tourism destination is known for its stunning landscapes, intact nature and Aboriginal culture. The $600 million tourism industry is dependent on the unspoilt scenery of places like the National Heritage listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River Valley and is currently being looked at for World Heritage listing after a commitment from Labor at the last election.”
Sign the petition to ban fracking in the Kimberley here.
Help us protect the critically endangered freshwater sawfish!
It was revealed last month in WA Parliament that 17 critically endangered freshwater sawfish died last year in a drying floodplain upstream from irrigation infrastructure on Liveringa Station.
It is the second mass sawfish death on Liveringa Station – a pastoral lease owned by billionaire Gina Rinehart, which also has a licence to pump water from a tributary of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River.
The WA Government did not make these sawfish deaths public and have not provided any information on what caused the sawfish to become trapped and die.
We are calling on Water Minister Simone McGurk and Environment Minister Reece Whitby to take immediate action and launch an inquiry into the sawfish deaths, and to review the management of water licenses and infrastructure on the Martuwarra Fitzroy River and their impacts on the sawfish.
An independent investigation is needed to provide transparency on why the sawfish died and the implications that barriers to water flow and taking water in this creek for irrigation has on species.
The Martuwarra Fitzroy River is the last stronghold for the freshwater sawfish and is considered its most important nursery and crucial to the survival of the species – which is why immediate action must be taken!
WA Government quietly approves fracking company’s 100 million litre water licence in Kimberley
The WA Government has quietly approved a groundwater extraction licence that would allow an overseas-based fracking company to take 100 million litres of groundwater each year.
While the state’s water department (DWER) approved Black Mountain Energy’s water licence on May 2, no public statement was issued, and the only way to find evidence of the licence’s approval is by searching the company’s Australian subsidiary, Bennett Resources, on the WA Government’s Water Register website.
The licence gives Black Mountain permission to access the groundwater for “the maintenance of unconventional gas wells, dust suppression, mining camp purposes, stock watering and rehabilitation purposes”.
However, the company’s “Valhalla” exploratory gas fracking project is still undergoing environmental assessment, and a public consultation process still needs to be conducted.
Dead duck in Buru Energy wastewater pond
If Valhalla is approved, Black Mountain would drill 20 exploration wells between 2 km and 4 km deep and hydraulically fracture them in up to 70 stages each. It would also require an additional two billion litres of groundwater.
Valhalla is also only an exploration project. Black Mountain’s website makes it clear the company wishes to expand to full scale production. If this occurs, it would require the drilling and fracking of many hundreds of wells. An export-scale project would also require a 1100km high-pressure gas pipeline to the Pilbara, processing facilities, pumping stations, flare stacks, and heavy-vehicle access roads.
Mount Hardman Creek where Black Mountain oil and gas wants to drill and frack
Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy Martin Pritchard said, “If Black Mountain goes into full production with hundreds of wells, the volume of precious groundwater required would be unimaginable.
“This incremental threat of enormous levels of precious groundwater extraction shows why fracking must not be allowed to take-off in the Kimberley.
“Fracking uses toxic chemicals that can pollute our clean water here in the Kimberley, why would we risk that?”
“Giving Black Mountain’s Valhalla Project the go ahead risks opening up the Kimberley to full-scale industrialisation by petroleum companies eager to get at the unconventional gas within the Canning Basin. This would ignite a carbon bomb, at a time when increasingly severe heat waves caused by the burning of fossil fuels and resulting climate change is putting the Kimberley at risk of becoming unliveable.”
Overflow at Buru Energy wastewater pond in the Kimberley
Read local media's reporting on the approval here.
Broome Locals Warned Town Could Become “Unliveable” If Emissions Continue To Rise
One of Australia’s most prestigious climate scientists has warned a packed town hall meeting in Broome that their town is on track to become “unliveable” if carbon emissions are not dramatically reduced soon.
IPCC report author and CEO of Climate Analytics Bill Hare told the sold out event that the world is currently on track for 2.7°C degrees of warming based on current government policies.
“The number of days over 40°C degrees across the northern land surface of Australia will increase quite rapidly. In a town like Broome, it could become too hot to work outside in parts of the year within a few decades,” warned Hare.
“Cattle also would not be able to survive once temperature and humidity reaches dangerous levels. It could become quite unlivable in several decades if we don’t dramatically reduce emissions soon and act to limit warming to 1.5°C.”
Climate scientist and IPCC report author Bill Hare briefs Broome locals.
Broome locals were briefed by Greenpeace, Conservation Council of WA and Environs Kimberley on Woodside’s new plans to drill at Scott Reef to develop the Browse field off the Kimberley coast, Australia’s largest untapped gas field.
Ten years after Woodside’s failed attempt to build an onshore gas processing plant at James Price Point, the fossil fuel giant is planning to build a 900-kilometre-long pipeline to pipe gas from the Browse field to the Karratha gas plant, as part of its wider Burrup Hub project.
Woodside’s proposal, which has been submitted for federal and state approval, would see the company drill up to 50 wells at the stunning Scott Reef, turning pristine waters into an industrial gas zone.
Broome locals packed a town hall meeting on Thursday 16 May to hear about Woodside’s plans to build a massive new fossil fuel project off the Kimberley coast.
Sitting 270 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, Scott Reef is one of Australia’s most vibrant and biodiverse standalone coral reefs, home to many threatened species including endangered green sea turtles and the endangered pygmy blue whale.
Woodside wants to drill just two kilometres from Scott Reef’s edge, risking a catastrophic oil spill. Meanwhile, the pipeline Woodside wants to build will also sit within 2 to 3 kilometres of the stunning Rowley Shoals, a diving paradise regularly visited by Broome marine tourism operators.
Broome locals had not previously been informed of the dangerous risks Woodside’s plans pose for the Kimberley coast.
“Woodside’s plans haven’t been made clear and transparent to Broome residents. People are just not aware of the risks. If something goes wrong, a well blowout could spread for hundreds of kilometres,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Environs Kimberley.
“Woodside’s safety record has been described by unions as ‘diabolical.’ They have had two pipeline accidents already this year off Karratha. We must place the protection of the Kimberley coast and everyone's jobs in tourism over Woodside profits.”
With the project facing possible approval within the next few months, Environs Kimberley called on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to visit Broome and Scott Reef to see first-hand what is at stake.
“This is a massive new fossil fuel development in a critically important area for endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles - it’s completely unacceptable. Minister Plibersek can protect our oceans and wildlife for future generations by stopping Woodside’s destructive plans. We invite Minister Plibersek to come to the Kimberley and see for herself what's at stake.”
“Scott Reef is the unknown jewel in the crown of Australia’s offshore reefs. There would be a national outcry if Woodside was drilling for oil and gas on the Great Barrier Reef, we need the same kind of response here,” said Mr Pritchard.
“Broome banded together and successfully defeated Woodside in 2013. We need the community’s support again here to protect Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast from Woodside for good.”
Broome faces “helicopter hell” if new Woodside project is approved
As Woodside seeks approval to develop the Browse offshore gas field near Broome, documents obtained by Greenpeace under FOI have revealed that the tourist hotspot was subject to “unbearable” aircraft noise during the last wave of offshore construction.
During the construction phases of the Prelude and Ichthys offshore facilities, a helicopter arrived or departed approximately every twenty minutes during the peak of the activity, with military-style choppers frequently operating outside curfew hours, even on public holidays.
If Woodside’s Browse facility gets approval, Broome can expect far worse.
“Not only is Woodside’s Browse a disaster for our climate and for WA nature, but it will create absolute helicopter hell for residents in Broome,” said Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy Martin Pritchard.
“This is just one more reason why Woodside’s Browse project can’t be allowed to go ahead. We need federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to protect our beautiful Kimberley coast and Broome’s multi-million dollar tourism industry, and to stop Woodside in its tracks.”
Proprietor of the Broome Hire Centre and local tourism operator Don Bacon said Woodside’s helicopters were too damaging for tourism: “Tourists come to Broome for the relaxed holiday feel - why would they holiday here if they are going to be assaulted by a pre-dawn chorus of military style helicopters? This can’t be allowed to happen. The town’s main industry is tourism; industrial noise is not compatible with a thriving visitor economy here. We want Broome to be Broome, not to turn it into Karratha!”
BACKGROUND:
In July 2017, the Prelude FLNG arrived in WA waters, some 475 kms north of Broome. Eighteen months later, on Boxing Day 2018, it became operational. Inpex also started producing at the neighboring Ichthys facility that year.
Construction and mining workers at both of these offshore facilities need to travel there by helicopter from Broome. The initial stages of setting up these facilities are particularly labour intensive and require large numbers of helicopter movements.
“As the offshore facilities are progressively hooked-up and commissioned, the number of workers and vessels required offshore will gradually reduce,” Inpex wrote at the time. “This transition will also see an aligned reduction in the number of helicopter flights operating out of Broome.”
Over those two years, noise complaints in Broome went through the roof. Airservices Australia data, released exclusively to Greenpeace Australia Pacific, show a tenfold increase in complaints from Broome in 2017-18 compared with other years.
It is little wonder that this happened. Helicopter traffic regularly peaked at over 1000 flights per month in that period. That’s 33 per day, and if all those flights had been crammed into daylight hours, it equals one flight almost every 20 minutes. Unfortunately, much of the traffic occurred at night or early in the morning, making the noise particularly disruptive, according to complaints.
No other time has come close to matching this. Throughout much of the period, starting in June 2017, when PHI began flying its helicopters out of Broome, helicopter flights made up a third of all traffic at Broome airport.
The helicopters used are twin-engined models that are significantly larger than joyflight tourist helicopters also seen in Broome.
Greenpeace has obtained copies of complaints made in Broome during the construction period. Highlighting the extent of the issue, the complaints included the following statements:
- “It's 6 am on Saturday morning and I have been awake since about 5am this morning due to the continuous loud helicopter noise, which has also woken my small children.”
- “These aircraft fly over early every morning and then fly in and out all day.”
- “Helicopter noise from Broome airport is so loud it woke me up. It drones on and on, before sunrise, in the day and now after 11pm at night. Can't sleep at night, can't sleep in in the mornings, can't concentrate in the day with these incessant periodic noise events. Health hazard.”
- “I have had tourists telling me they won't be coming back to Broome next year if this is how it is going to be, too bloody noisy.”
- "Sick to death of living in what feels and sounds [like] a war zone."
- “The impact of these helicopters is immense and it's really unbearable to hear those blades over your house. I contacted these cowboys and the airport in the past but now they don't take my calls anymore.”
- “The helicopters are using my place as a navigational point. They should be flying somewhere else instead of right over my house.”
- “The airport is very close into the Broome township. The helicopters make unacceptable noise levels near residential areas. When is the helicopter base going to be moved?”
- “Why do the helicopters sound like they are just driving up and down for an hour, its very noisy and if its not at 7-9pm its 5.45am-6.45am its very annoying and being a shift worker either end is hard to sleep. I cant wear and shouldn't have to wear earplugs.”
- “Would like to lodge a complaint for helicopter noise last twenty minutes or so, just sitting there on the runway, also excessive noise from helicopters early in the mornings taking off and returning as well as training ones on Friday nights.”
If Woodside’s Browse facility gets approval, Broome can expect far worse.
Woodside’s proposed project will dwarf what is already in place in terms of both scale and complexity - and that will mean a sharp rise in helicopter traffic.
“The complexities of projects like Browse are myriad,” the AFR has reported, “and they stretch way beyond the technical, geological and geographic.”
Woodside’s Browse operation is massively bigger than what is already in place, and will triple local production. At 11.4 million tonnes per annum, Woodside’s Browse operation is more than double the combined capacities of Prelude and Ichthys (3.6 MTPA and 1.6 MTPA).
Woodside’s project will exist in waters as deep as 700 metres, more than twice as deep as the 250 metre waters where the existing projects operate.
This will all, of course, also require a workforce that is significantly greater than was previously used.
The airport says 45,000 per year are already transported by helicopter to work on oil and gas facilities.
Unfortunately for residents, tourists and tourism operators in Broome, the approval of Woodside’s project will mean many more helicopters - in the short term, and in the long run.
Community Meeting Called to Alert Broome Locals to New Woodside Threat
Broome locals have been left in the dark over the dangerous climate and nature risks posed by Woodside’s new plans to drill at Scott Reef and develop the Browse field off the Kimberley coast, environmental groups and experts say.
Experts will brief Broome locals, who are largely unaware of Woodside’s new plans for their town, at a special campaign launch in Broome to ‘Save Scott Reef’ hosted by Environs Kimberley, Greenpeace and Conservation Council of WA at Broome Lotteries House on Thursday May 16.
Ten years after Woodside’s failed attempt to build an onshore gas processing plant at James Price Point, the fossil fuel giant is planning to build a 900-kilometre-long pipeline off the Kimberley coast to pipe gas from the Browse field to the Karratha gas plant, as part of its wider Burrup Hub project.
Woodside’s proposal, which has been submitted for federal and state approval, would see the company drill up to 50 wells at the stunning Scott Reef, turning pristine waters into an industrial gas zone.
Sitting 270 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, Scott Reef is one of Australia’s most vibrant and biodiverse standalone coral reefs, home to many threatened species including endangered green sea turtles and the endangered pygmy blue whale.
The stunning Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast where Woodside plans to drill up to 50 gas wells to develop the Browse field. Credit: Alex Westover, Greenpeace.
Woodside wants to drill just two kilometres from Scott Reef’s edge, risking a catastrophic oil spill. Meanwhile, the pipeline Woodside wants to build will also sit within 2 to 3 kilometres of the stunning Rowley Shoals, a diving paradise regularly visited by Broome marine tourism operators.
Broome locals have not been informed of the dangerous risks Woodside’s plans pose for the Kimberley coast.
“Woodside’s plans haven’t been made clear and transparent to Broome residents. People are just not aware of the risks. If something goes wrong, a well blowout could spread for hundreds of kilometres,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Environs Kimberley.
“Woodside’s safety record has been described by unions as ‘diabolical.’ They have had two pipeline accidents already this year off Karratha. We must place the protection of the Kimberley coast and everyone's jobs in tourism over Woodside profits.”
With the project facing possible approval within the next few months, Environs Kimberley called on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to visit Broome and Scott Reef to see first-hand what is at stake.
“This is a massive new fossil fuel development in a critically important area for endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles - it’s completely unacceptable. Minister Plibersek can protect our oceans and wildlife for future generations by stopping Woodside’s destructive plans. We would like to invite her to come to the Kimberley and see for herself what's at stake,” Mr Pritchard said.
At the launch, IPCC report author and renowned climate scientist Bill Hare will discuss climate modelling that indicates Broome will become unliveable if fossil fuel emissions are not drastically reduced soon.
Environs Kimberley and Greenpeace will also present new research that highlights a massive increase in noise pollution from the number of helicopters taking off and landing at Broome airport and disturbing local residents, if Woodside’s Browse project is approved.
“Scott Reef is the unknown jewel in the crown of Australia’s offshore reefs. There would be a national outcry if Woodside was drilling for oil and gas on the Great Barrier Reef, we need the same kind of response here,” said Mr Pritchard.
“Broome banded together and successfully defeated Woodside in 2013. We need the community’s support again here to protect Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast from Woodside for good.”
Set — 3,2,1 — ACTION! Protecting the Kimberley wetlands. That’s the Ticket!
Last dry season I was lucky enough to have a day out with the Yawuru Country Manager team at the picturesque Yawuru wetland Tharndoo-Ngunjal (Lake Campion). It was a far cry from the usual wetland monitoring day on Country, as the Country Managers were acting on a film shoot with the Lotterywest marketing and grants team.
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