Call for Premier Cook to back claimed frack legal advice with evidence
Independent legal advice states there would be no obligation for the Western Australian Government to compensate any company that possesses a petroleum tenement, should the ban on fracking be expanded to the Kimberley.
This raises serious questions about the response from Premier Roger Cook, quoted in the media recently, suggesting there could be “legal consequences for the state”, should the ban be extended to include the Kimberley.
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said, “The Premier’s claims are unfounded — we’re yet to see any evidence that there would be legal ramifications from a fracking ban.
“In fact we have legal advice from a barrister — whose career includes many years at the State Solicitor's Office — that shows exactly the opposite.
Community protest in Broome. Photo: Alex Westover.
“The legal advice is clear — no compensation would be owed to companies who hold a petroleum license if the WA Labor Government banned fracking in the Kimberley.
“The WA Government banned fracking down south and around Perth and as far as we’re aware there was no compensation, so why won’t MPs do it for the Kimberley?
“The Premier is aware of our legal advice, and we’ve told him, if he knows something that we don’t, we’re more than happy to have it legally reviewed.
“West Australians won’t stand by while the Kimberley is sacrificed for no reason. Traditional Owners and Kimberley locals are calling for a ban. Community organisations are calling for a ban. And so are WA Labor’s voters. It’s time to act.”
Fremantle locals know fracking the Kimberley would be disastrous. Photo: John Reed.
Lock the Gate Alliance WA Coordinator Claire McKinnon said, “Voters aren’t about to be hoodwinked by Roger Cook’s claims that fracking isn’t going to expand in the Kimberley.
“The fact is, US company Black Mountain has plans to frack in the Kimberley going through state and federal approval processes right now.
“Lock the Gate Alliance and Environs Kimberley have galvanised an army of volunteers and supporters in Perth and Fremantle who are backing Kimberley communities in their call for a ban.
“If the Cook Government refuses to ban fracking in the Kimberley, then it can expect the voters of Freo and Perth to send them a strong message at the ballot box at the upcoming election.”
Premier Cook on election trail in the Kimberley – community calls for fracking ban commitment
Premier Cook on election trail in the Kimberley – community calls for fracking ban commitment
West Australian Premier Roger Cook is on the election trail in Broome and has been greeted with a strong community call to extend the ban on fracking in the southwest of the state and the Dampier Peninsula to cover all the Kimberley.
While the WA Government under Premier Mark McGowan’s leadership promised veto rights for Traditional Owners and farmers over fracking in 2018, the promise has not been fulfilled and the whole process is creating significant division in communities across the region.
“There’s a simple answer to the whole question of the destructive industrialisation of the Kimberley through oil and gas fracking and that’s a ban on the industry like there is in the Southwest of the state,” said Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard.
The community protest at local Kimberley MP Divina D’Anna’s office called for the ban in light of the proposal by Texan fossil fuel company Black Mountain, to drill and frack 20 oil and gas wells in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment.
The WA EPA is currently assessing the proposal and a decision will be required of the WA Government after the election.
The Kimberley community has vehemently opposed fracking for the past 12 years and concerns have been heightened recently with Black Mountain proposing a pipeline to an LNG refinery in the Pilbara.
“A recent report by climate scientists has shown the potential for 8,700 oil and gas wells across the region that would seriously undermine Australia's ability to meet its climate goals, surely the Premier Roger Cook doesn’t want to open the Kimberley to that,” Mr Pritchard said.
“What we have now is a completely different proposition to what the WA government based its lifting of the ban on fracking in the Kimberley in 2018. What we’re facing now is turning the Kimberley into Texas,” Mr Pritchard said.
“The community wants a commitment from the Premier and the Labor party that the already existing ban on fracking in the Southwest of the state and the Dampier Peninsula be extended to cover the whole Kimberley,” Mr Pritchard said.
Surveying of over 1,000 people in the seat of Fremantle revealed 92% of voters want a ban on fracking and 72% are willing to change their vote for it.
“If its too risky for the Southwest then we shouldn’t be discriminated against in the Kimberley just because it’s been a safe Labor seat,” Mr Pritchard said.
You can send a message asking Premier Cook to ban fracking in the Kimberley here.
Photo: Damian Kelly.
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.”