Whitby removes former Chevron employee from Karratha gas plant appeal

A former Chevron biosecurity expert is no longer co-chair of a committee tasked with deciding whether the Northwest Shelf and Karratha Gas Plant project can continue operating until 2070.

Murdoch University Professor Simon McKirdy.Credit: Murdoch University

In April Murdoch University Professor Simon McKirdy was appointed to the appeals convenor committee considering appeals of the Environmental Protection Authority’s controversial 2022 recommendation to approve the gas project’s extension.

The ABC reported that environmental groups complained in a letter to Minister Reece Whitby on May 3 about the potential for conflicts of interest given McKirdy’s links to Chevron – a one-sixth owner in the Northwest Shelf and Karratha gas plant operation.

According to his LinkedIn page, McKirdy worked for Chevron as a “biosecurity science and risk manager” from 2013 to 2016 and was a director of Murdoch’s Harry Butler Institute, of which Chevron was a founding research partner.

Whitby said McKirdy provided his resume before his appointment and was open and honest with both the appeals convenor and state solicitor’s office, but the Minister decided to remove him to maintain public confidence in the appeal committee’s work.

“After receiving advice from the State Solicitor’s Office, I have made the decision to revoke Simon McKirdy’s appointment to the committee investigating appeals to the Northwest Shelf extension project,” he said.

“Though his connections to Chevron are indirect and have arisen due to the nature of his research, this proposal is of significant public concern, and I have made my decision for the sake of maintaining public confidence in the appeal.

“Throughout his career, Professor McKirdy has earned respect for his research, professionalism, and leadership, and I acknowledge he had no intention with this appeal other than to act in a way that is fair and impartial.

“I want to thank him for his cooperation during this process.”

McKirdy is a nationally recognised biosecurity expert having recently retired from the board of Plant Health Australia and was one of the longest-serving members of the WA Biosecurity Council.

Australian Conservation Foundation lead exports campaigner Elizabeth Sullivan welcomed Whitby’s decision.

“For the public to have confidence in the appeals process, people need to be sure the members of the appeals body do not have connections to the fossil fuel industry and especially not to the project proponent,” she said.

“The controversial Northwest Shelf gas project extension, in which Chevron is a partner, will result in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

“These emissions will directly contribute to global heating and an increase in heatwaves, bushfires and water shortages in Western Australia.”

Conservation Council of WA executive director Jess Beckerling said the expansion project had drawn a record 776 appeals against it so there was massive public interest in it.

“The appeals committee should also include expertise in the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and their impacts,” she said.

“It is critical that the massive carbon emissions as well as the cultural and environmental impacts are fully considered. This means that the North West Shelf project must be rejected.”

McKirdy declined to comment.

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