Two environmental groups are at the centre of the latest delay in Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek assessment of Woodside’s bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf assets by 50 years.
According to documents uploaded to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water website on federal budget day, the deadline for the politically precarious decision was pushed back from March 31 to May 31 – after the federal election.
Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The delay released a deluge of criticism at Plibersek, who was accused of trying to sneak the decision past the election to appease Greens voters in NSW and Victoria.
As of Wednesday morning, Plibersek’s office had not been briefed on why the department sought a delay.
This masthead can reveal the delay was decided because of two applications from the Conservation Council of WA and Greenpeace Australia, made under provisions in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, urging Plibersek to fold more of Woodside’s Burrup Hub vision into her assessment.
A department spokeswoman said a decision on the validity of these applications had not yet been made.
Both Greenpeace and the Conservation Council WA want Plibersek to rule on Woodside’s $30 billion Browse gas field development – which would use North West Shelf assets – and the company’s plans to build a carbon capture and storage facility alongside the North West Shelf extension proposal.
Those projects are going through state and federal environmental approvals processes, but are less advanced than the North West Shelf extension. If their applications are accepted, further delays to a decision could span years.
Greenpeace submitted its application on March 19 and, at the time, said the North West Shelf proposal, which was initially submitted to WA authorities in 2019, should not be assessed in isolation given its links with Woodside’s Browse plans.
Plibersek’s assessment of the North West Shelf extension relates to its impact on heritage values of the project – namely its impact on the Murujuga rock art on the Burrup peninsula near Woodside’s assets.
Greenpeace said new evidence had come to light about Browse’s impact on nearby Scott Reef, and Browse’s viability was linked to the North West Shelf extension, and therefore they needed to be assessed together.
“To properly assess the serious risk of extending the life of Woodside’s gas processing facility, it is essential that the Environment Minister gives due regard to all available evidence,” Greenpeace said last week.
Conservation Council acting executive director Mia Pepper said without the North West Shelf extension, there was no Browse.
“The North West Shelf extension needs to be assessed for what it is: the centrepiece of Woodside’s Burrup Hub, opening up widespread industrialisation of WA’s oceans and iconic Pilbara and Kimberley landscapes,” she said.
“The North West Shelf decision is not just about whether the oldest, dirtiest gas plant in Australia gets its life extended for another half a century; this decision is about whether the government wants to open the floodgates to Woodside drilling for Browse gas around the precious and fragile Scott Reef.”
Industry groups are concerned that by pushing the decision to after the election, Labor may have formed a minority government with the Greens or teals, which may heap pressure on Plibersek to reject the project outright.
On Wednesday, a Woodside spokeswoman described the delay as “extremely disappointing”.
“We look forward to certainty for ongoing operations, which can support thousands of direct and indirect jobs, billions of dollars in taxes and royalties and secure gas supply to Western Australia,” she said.
WA Nationals leader Shane Love described the decision delay as a “gutless betrayal” of WA’s economic future.
“This is an unacceptable and deliberate hindrance to development, economic prosperity, and job creation in Western Australia – all at the hands of the federal Labor government,” he said.
“The Albanese government is bowing to pressure from the Greens in an attempt to shore up votes ahead of the next federal election, rather than backing a project that is vital to WA’s economy and energy security.”
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