Greens and teals to pressure a minority Albanese government to cancel NorthWest shelf gas extension

Anthony Albanese will come under immediate pressure from the Greens and teals to cancel the $30bn extension of the North West Shelf gas project if Labor falls into minority government.

Teal and Greens MPs will push Labor to axe the expansion of Woodside’s North West Shelf project if a hung parliament eventuates.

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Anthony Albanese will come under immediate pressure from the Greens and teals to cancel the $30bn extension of the North West Shelf gas project if Labor falls into minority government, defying the warnings of WA Premier Roger Cook and realising the worst fears of Woodside ­Energy and other big businesses about a hung parliament.

The Australian understands that crucial data sent to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this month has done little to dispel concerns that emissions from heavy industry on the Burrup Peninsula is ­affecting the estim­ated one million ancient petroglyphs in the area.

The data is in the process of being peer-reviewed but could give the government a trigger to shelve Woodside’s plans, with both the Greens and the teals set to demand a stop to the project in exchange for supporting a minority Labor government.

The prospect of a hung parliament after the upcoming election is becoming a point of increasing concern and frustration for industry and Woodside.

The plan to extend the life of the North West Shelf project to 2070 has been strongly opposed by Climate 200-backed teal independent Kate Chaney, who holds the once blue-ribbon seat of Curtin in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs. Ms Chaney, whose father Michael is a former chairman of Woodside, described the WA government’s approval of the extension last year as a “terrible” decision and called on Ms Plibersek to knock back the project.

“There is no doubt that the ­Murujuga rock art is being ­severely impacted by high levels of acid pollution, causing irreparable damage,” Ms Chaney said.

“Since my election, I have been contacted by nearly 600 people in Curtin who are concerned about the proposed expansion of the North West Shelf gas processing plant. The scale of the environmental, climate and heritage issues at stake cannot be overstated.

“While gas will continue to play a role in our energy transition, locking in gas fields until 2070 and beyond is unacceptable – especially when it comes at the cost of our natural environment and national heritage.”

Greens environment spokeswoman Dorinda Cox said she had no doubts that emissions from ­industry on the Burrup were ­having a detrimental effect on the region’s rock art. “Should we have a power-sharing arrangement in the next parliament we will absolutely be taking Labor to task on this, because it’s so important,” Senator Cox said.

She said she had known Ms Plibersek for a long time and knew her to be a good person. “Tanya should take into consideration what her legacy wants to be post-politics,” Senator Cox said. “We would never do this to the pyramids in Egypt, we would never do this to Stonehenge, but … we are now looking down the ­barrel of making a decision that cannot be reversed, that will ­destroy that beautiful and amazing place all in the name of a gas export hub.”

Woodside Energy’s Karratha Gas plant.

The Cook government issued its final environmental approvals for the project late last year.

Ms Plibersek this month delayed her final decision on the North West Shelf for a second time, blaming a delay in WA handing over the most recent findings of the state government and Woodside-sponsored Burrup rock art monitoring ­program.

The program’s most recent draft technical report was handed to WA’s Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in June last year. The department and Murujuga Aboriginal Corp – the organisation established to represent traditional owner groups with ties to the Burrup – have provided feedback on the draft report but the final peer review is yet to be completed.

Asked about the situation in Senate estimates on Monday night, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water division head Bruce Edwards confirmed Ms Plibersek had written to the WA government seeking the ­report after earlier inquiries from her department had been unsuccessful. He noted that the data provided was complex, “so hence we extended the time frame out”.

MAC chief executive Kim Wood said he expected the peer review process over the draft technical report to be completed in the first half of this year.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA described the latest delay as disappointing and harmful to Australia’s investment attractiveness. The Australian Energy Producers labelled it a blow to WA’s energy security and an example of another “regulatory fail”. Woodside is a member of both organisations.

WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby last week hit out at “nerdy little bureaucrats in Canberra” for the latest delay, saying his office had handed documents requested by Ms Plibersek within five days of receiving a request at the start of February. However, the documents were reportedly requested in December.

Asked on Monday whether he had considered the interim report findings before he made his own decision on the extension, Mr Whitby said he had not seen the data.

The North West Shelf extension is expected to have a huge impact on both the WA and national economies. The project has generated $40bn in royalties and excise over four decades of operations and is expected to generate $614m in royalties for the WA government last year. The project has now been in the approvals process for six years.

A spokesman for Woodside said the North West Shelf had been powering homes and industry in WA since 1984, and approval was needed to secure its continuing contribution to the national and state economies.

“Woodside cannot comment on a report we have not yet seen, but we remain strongly committed to preserving rock art on Murujuga, and working with traditional owners and cultural heritage experts based on credible science,” he said.

Mr Cook on Monday warned further delays would hurt Australia’s investment reputation.