"attempting to rewrite history"

In the light of yesterdays supreme Court ruling against the proposed Kimberley gas hub Red Hand would like to remind you what Vogel said in Dec 2011. 

The head of WA's environment watchdog has accused green groups of rewriting history and lacking objectivity by ignoring the previous detailed approval process for Woodside Petroleum's contentious $40 billion Browse project.

Environment Protection Authority chairman Paul Vogel made the comments after he yesterday approved Woodside's so-called derived plans for a 25 million tonnes per annum LNG facility at James Price Point, north of Broome.

The green light for the plant was given under the umbrella of a broader strategic approval process for the entire, larger, James Price Point precinct, which was cleared by the EPA and accepted by the WA Environment Minister this year.

It means the latest "derived" decision will not be subject to appeals.

Green groups attacked the move and flagged legal action against the EPA.

However, Dr Vogel said no new environmental issues about the project had been raised in 1800 public comments on Woodside's derived proposal, and green groups were "attempting to rewrite history" by ignoring the previous lengthy approval process.

"We have been involved in this assessment since 2007," he said.

"There have been 43 sites looked at along the Kimberley coast . . . and there have been several years of a lot of work and thousands and thousands of pages of investigations about James Price Point.

"This has been a rigorous and exhaustive process. To suggest that this has been a cursory examination is fatuous and disingenuous.

"We have formed the view, with the approved project, that there aren't any significant new issues that would justify reassessment."

To suggest that this has been a cursory examination is fatuous and disingenuous. "EPA boss Paul Vogel

Red Hand would also like to draw your attention back to a previous post. 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012

EPA's Deception Of Community

Goolarabooloo People in Country EPA Board Member 2011

What is the purpose of the National Heritage register? The ‘heritage value of fossilised dinosaur track sites that occur in Broome Sandstone is recognised and is listed as a National Heritage site. Who do these faceless trans-nationals think they are? It is one thing for corporations wanting to exploit resources that have no impact in their own back yard, but for the state government to  disregard not only the social mandate of the Broome community, but also State and Commonwealth laws, treaties  and agreements and are activity  aiding and abetting the wilful destruction of our national heritage. 

This is appalling.  

It begs the question again- just who is checking the checker? When you have a state government as the proponent, a stubborn egotistical and blinkered Premier who’s ‘streamlining’ processes is actually a blatant abuse of process, and Heads of Departments like Dr Vogel whose workplace renewal contract is reliant on and sanctioned by the Premier, one wonders whether conflict of interest enters the equation.

The Broome community lobbied the EPA board to come and talk to all interested and concerned community parties including the Goolarabooloo who welcomed them onto country and shared extensive cultural knowledge. Unfortunately, the community was under the misguided notion that the EPA was independent of governmental control, and would provide checks and balances to governmental excess.

That the guidelines enshrined in law for the protection of environmental and cultural heritage would actually provide recourse. Instead the EPA abused the hospitality provided and this deception only added to the collective no gas psyche of the Broome community…the faith that was put into this authoritive body and other governmental departments should stand as a warning for other communities who are battling corporations and the acquiescence of governments.