Yahoo!7 News

Yahoo!7 News: A group of protesters on board a Shell-contracted oil-drilling ship in Taranaki, New Zealand, are preparing for a third night on board but their water is running low.

The protesters, including TV actor Lucy Lawless, boarded the Arctic-bound Noble Discoverer and scaled the 53m drilling tower on Friday morning, using locks on the access ladder to barricade themselves on the derrick.

The group of six had a cold and uncomfortable night on Saturday with loud music blasting at 3am and spotlights shining on them all night, Greenpeace New Zealand says on its website.

"They're hungry, and water rations are low."

Ms Lawless, who played Xena the Warrior Princes, says she had some dark thoughts before dawn.

"You think is anybody listening? Is anybody out there? Does anybody even care about this like we do? So, you just don't know, but you've got to do what you believe is right."

The group were preparing to spend a third night on the ship and plan to stay as long as they can, a Greenpeace spokeswoman told NZ Newswire on Sunday.

They had taken supplies to last several days.

Activist Injured by Police Negligence

MEDIA RELEASE
23-02-2012

Forest Rescue activist Glen Pendlebury underwent surgery this morning after police badly injured his hands by slicing through his thumbs while unlocking him from logging machinery in Warrup forest.

Pendlebury, who attracted recent media attention after boarding Japanese whaling vessel Shonan Maru 2, received numerous stitches to both hands. His tendons were cut and bone chipped from a police extraction procedure that went horribly wrong.
Forest Rescue are alarmed that in their haste to get Glen off police used the unprecedented method of a drill-press over safe and established procedures. “The police have seen and extracted dozens of protestors from this type of lock-on before, and for them to use this new method came as a shock to us all” said Forest Rescue spokesman Simon Peterffy.

Moments earlier, officers had joked to Pendlebury about the possibility of cutting off his thumbs in the extraction process.

Forest Rescue are disturbed by police statements that frame the incident as Pendlebury’s fault when clear negligence by police is demonstrated. “I’m appalled that the WA police have shifted blame to the victim of their negligence,” said Peterffy. “The police have the same duty of care to an activist as any other citizen…safety should be their paramount concern.”

Peterffy says the incident demonstrates the police violence and misconduct that Forest Rescue activists have been subject to throughout their campaign to stop logging in Warrup Forest. “In this campaign, the police are acting as the security company for the Forest Products Commission and this is not their role.” Peterffy, who boarded the Japanese whaling vessel with Pendlebury last month, added "we were treated better by the Japanese whalers than we have been by the WA police at Warrup.”

Pendlebury said he locked himself to the machine "because there are left than one thousand numbats left in the wild, and its revolting that the government are encouraging the destruction of their largest colony."

Woodside rejects talk of rift with Browse partners

Woodside rejects talk of rift with Browse partners: Development of the controversial Browse project has been marred by speculation that Woodside's partners - BHP Billiton, Shell, BP and Chevron - want to shift the processing site from James Price Point to the existing facility at the North West Shelf.

But Mr Coleman rejected suggestions his project partners were pulling in different directions, and pointed to a recent ''joint'' decision to extend study times on the James Price Point site.

Groups lodge rival claims for land sought by Woodside | The Australian

Groups lodge rival claims for land sought by Woodside | The Australian: It is believed West Australian government lawyers are concerned about the potential impact of the vote, which took place this week at a gathering of about 100 people in the Kimberley.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett, a strong supporter of the project, declined to comment yesterday.

Mr Roe said he was unable to comment on the vote, but sources familiar with the process say a longstanding native title claim by the Goolarabooloo Jabirr-Jabirr people over James Price Point is likely to be deregistered in the Federal Court as a result of the vote.

Outrage over order to dump toxic spoils on reef | The Australian

If the proposed liquefied natural gas export industry extends its arms to James Price Point, we can all say goodbye to our beautiful coastal environment of the Damiper Peninsula and especially Broome.

Goodbye Cable Beach, a beach voted the 3rd most beautiful in the world and farewell Roebuck Bay, an international listed Ramsar site.

With the toxic spoils from the dredging, mixed with the biggest tides of the world, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that the impacts on marine life will be despicable, recreational and commercial fishing will be obliterated, the tourism industry shattered, our national heritage listed sites devastated, community and lifestyles demolished and our dreamt future for our children and theirs crushed.

The Broome Shire has the moral obligation and social responsibility to fund and instigate a fact finding mission to Gladstone with representatives from our local recreational clubs, non-government agencies, social services organisations, tourism representatives, environmental groups, fishing and sporting clubs and small business advocates.

Their mission would be to simply investigate the facts on the impacts the LNG development has had on Gladstone’s community and social fabric, their local economic base and the environment and report their findings back to the Broome community in an open public forum.

Open public discussions, with complete and true information about the LNG proposal at James Price Point needs to be undertaken in Broome in order for the community to really understand the turmoil, the sickness and the trepidation a massive destructive project of this nature will have on the Damiper Peninsula.

Every member of the Broome Community should be shouting from their rooftops for their rights to FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT to ensure we do not have to experience what the Gladstone community is suffering or be traumatized in trying to mitigate total ecological wreckage and the social lunacy that comes with it.


Outrage over order to dump toxic spoils on reef | The Australian: MILLIONS of tonnes of potentially toxic dredge spoils from coal and gas port expansions along the Queensland coast have been earmarked to be dumped into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The federal government has told the park authority to raise working capital by imposing a dumping fee of between $5 and $15 per cubic metre.

The proposal has enraged fishing and conservation groups, which have called it "pay to pollute" environmental vandalism.

The plan coincides with long-running concerns over the impact on marine life of dredging at Gladstone Harbour to make way for the $70 billion liquefied natural gas export industry.

Greer kicks off writer's festival - The West Australian

Greer kicks off writer's festival - The West Australian: The results were an absurdly inflated currency, exorbitant food prices, unaffordable housing and ecological degradation, she said.

"What will be kept when the mineral wealth has all been shipped away? The answer is nothing. Mining doesn’t bring development unless governments make it bring development."

"All mining brings is holes in the ground."

Our real inheritance should be bio-diversity, not bricks and mortar, she said.

Women had historically been at the forefront of the environmental movement but Professor Greer called for the women of today to do more and follow the unlikely example of the growing activism of the Country Women's Association against coal seam gas projects in Queensland and New South Wales.

Having been subordinated by men for centuries, women better understood the natural world was ordered from the bottom up, rather than the top down, she said.

"We have to mobilise as if resisting the bombardment of an invader."

Humans shared their DNA and depended for their survival on slime moulds, mycorrhizal plant fungi, bacteria and tree frogs, she said.

"We are all earthlings," she said.

Xena boards ship in oil drill protest - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Xena boards ship in oil drill protest - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): Lawless said she was not concerned at the prospect of being arrested.

"I'm a true believer," she said by mobile phone from the ship.

"We need to start switching over to renewable energy now; we don't have to go to the ends of the earth to suck out every last drop of oil."

Lawless, who starred as the title character in the fantasy television series Xena:
Warrior Princess from 1995-2001, is a long-time environmental activist who was named as a Greenpeace ambassador in 2009.

Police said the protesters had climbed a drilling tower on the ship and were displaying banners.

Activists in New Zealand are blocking a Shell oil rig bound for Arctic destruction. Join them and take action: http://www.greenpeace.org/savethearctic
Follow them here: http://www.greenpeace.org.nz/

Coleman keeps his cards close

Coleman keeps his cards close: And Browse, well, it is a story complicated by the vastly different aspirations of its stakeholders. Woodside’s partners in the project don’t like the operator’s preferred development option. Their preference, generally, would be to use the Browse gas to backfill the NWS project.

But governments state and federal seem as wedded to the idea of a new LNG hub in the Kimberley almost as much as was good old Voelte.

And in the middle of all that sit the environmentalists who don’t like it and the Aboriginal communities who seem to like it and hate it in unequal measure.

Coleman was pushed hard on why he would sell down now when so much of Browse remains so doubtful. He clearly knows why, he just isn’t telling. Essentially then, we remain in the dark on whether the sale should be a received as an indicator of support for the James Price Point option.

What we do know is that the final investment decision on Browse has been delayed until first-quarter 2013 and that, as result, Woodside has applied for state and commonwealth indulgence on an extension of the project’s retention lease.

One result of the “health check’’ that Coleman admits to is that Woodside now has 20 souls beavering away on corporate planning and strategy. This was not previously a “core strength’’, Coleman said yesterday.

Woodside Sale Of Browse Stake May Raise US$1.6 Bln: Citi - Deal Journal Australia - WSJ

Woodside Sale Of Browse Stake May Raise US$1.6 Bln: Citi - Deal Journal Australia - WSJ: Citi pointed out West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said James Price Point is to be the last greenfield LNG hub in Western Australia. “There may be some strategic value in obtaining a position, one factor which may drive the price beyond our DCF,” Mr. Greenwood said.

The broker doesn’t believe Chevron or BHP Billiton will be interested, but said BP could take a look since it has few competing LNG projects in the region.

“Shell is also a possibility…if Shell pre-empted, it could pay with Woodside stock and reduce its 24% stake in Woodside to US$6 billion from around US$7.5 billion,” Mr. Greenwood said before adding that Citi believes neither BP nor Shell would likely match the price offered by other interested parties.

Possible Asian buyers include CPC Taiwan, Mitsui, PetroChina and Mitsubishi.

ITS NOT A DONE DEAL

Second native title claim on gas hub site closer - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Second native title claim on gas hub site closer - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Last year, Mr Roe - who opposes any industrial development in the area - indicated he wanted to lodge a separate, competing native title claim to try and invalidate the deal struck.

Yesterday, he put that proposal to the claim group at a closed meeting in Broome.

He succeeded in convincing the approximately 100 people gathered that it was best if the Jabirr-Jabirr and Goolarabooloo families go their separate ways, to better reflect their clashing views on the gas hub.

Planning debate over gas hub site - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Planning debate over gas hub site - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The contentious gas hub precinct proposed for James Price Point north of Broome was the focus of planning approvals over preliminary siteworks.

Some 60 people went to a planning policy meeting in Broome on Friday afternoon. Many of them walked out of the public gallery at the Broome Shire office midway through the meeting in a disgruntled mood.

It was a meeting about the James Price Point gas hub proposal.

The Development Assessment Panel (DAP) was meeting to decide whether or not to grant approval to six million dollars worth of work by Woodside, at James Price Point. Much of the company's planning application was seeking retrospective approval for a meterological tower, ground works, staff infrastructure and a helipad.

The Kimberley Joint Development Assessment Panel was formed in July 2011 under the Barnett Government. All regions have a panel to asses works over three million dollars. A developer can opt to have their application assessed by the DAP.

AAOD Journal Issue 9

22 TRACKS BELOW THE TIDE
The dinosaur tracks of Broome
Story by Maria Zammit and David Elliott


AAOD Journal Issue 9

Les terres sacrées du Kimberley - Bayonne - Japon - Prochainement - Thalassa - France3

Les terres sacrées du Kimberley - Bayonne - Japon - Prochainement - Thalassa - France3
Watch this film .... share it far and wide ...
The Sacred Kimberley land
A report by Yannick Charles and Bas Vandenbranden
France 3 TV - Thalasssa productions.

.... watch ... and share ... far and wide ...
with thanks

News release: Nineteen on trial for blocking Shell’s Corrib gas project | Shell to Sea

News release: Nineteen on trial for blocking Shell’s Corrib gas project | Shell to Sea

Strategised Iniquity at James Price Point

So while the DO AS U PLEASE panel were meeting in Broome and the Broome Community were being: railroaded by the state government’s forces of strategised evil, betrayed by their shire president and shafted by the subservient councilor Bloom, Woodside were in Country, confident that the rubber stamp was poised for use.

Fury as Woodside works approved - The West Australian

Fury as Woodside works approved - The West Australian: Five community members were given five minutes each to oppose the application and cited concerns about Woodside’s record of compliance with Shire planning approvals and environmental management.

However, the conditional approval was passed unanimously.

After the meeting, Environs Kimberley spokesman Martin Pritchard was angry the Shire’s position on the matter had been completely ignored by the DAP.

“This shows how the Development Assessment Panels have been set up to override community and Shire Council decisions,” he said.

“They are undemocratic and the decision makers, flown in from Perth, did not even visit the site of the proposed development.”

Mr Pritchard said he was seeking legal advice.

2012.02.17 MEDIA RELEASE Shire Council Congratulated on Brave Decision-1

Ferguson's Dumping Ground Fights Back | newmatilda.com

Ferguson's Dumping Ground Fights Back | newmatilda.com: In February 2010, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson introduced the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill into the House of Representatives, saying it represented "a responsible and long overdue approach for an issue that impacts on all Australian communities".

The legislation names Muckaty, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, as the only site to remain under active consideration for a national nuclear waste dump.

The proposal is highly contested by the NT Government and is also being challenged in the Federal Court by Traditional Owners. Despite this, the Bill is currently being debated in the Senate — and will likely pass.

MR20120216 Call on Minister

2012.02..14 Call on Council to Defer Woodside Decision

Rainforest oasis under threat: fire, feral animals and 4WDs - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Rainforest oasis under threat: fire, feral animals and 4WDs - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation


MONSOON VINE THICKETS ON THE COASTAL SAND DUNES OF THE DAMPIER

These very important and culturally significant Monsoon Vine Thickets on the Coastal Sand Dunes of the Dampier are currently under investigation with the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities in order to determine if this ecological community is eligible for listing as threatened under the EPBC Act. These assessments are undertaken by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) to determine if the item is eligible for listing against a set of criteria as set out in the guidelines for nominating and assessing threatened species and ecological communities. Unt6il these investigations are completed and the Minister has made his decision, Woodside should not be allowed to drill,clear or cut tracks into this ecosystem.



Monsoon Vine Thickets are a rainforest –allied ecosystem found in discrete patches along the Dampier peninsula in the west Kimberley. A great diversity of plants found within the vine thickets provide important habitat for the fauna such as Agile Wallaby, Rose Crowned |Fruit Dove, Flying Foxes and the Great Bowerbirds.

The area in and around vine thickets are of great significance to indigenous people on the Dampier Peninsula. As a cultural teaching and ecological resource, vine thickets contain many traditional food sources, valuable and reliable sources of nutritious bushtucker and medicine, water and signifaicant sites. Monsoon vine thickets are semi deciduous. Towards the end of the dry season up to 50% of the plants lose their leaves. They rely on the wet season rain to help them flourish. It is believed that the high humidity along the coastal fringe allows them to survive long periods of no rain and provides some protection from fires. Many patches are associated with ground water springs, shallow aquifers and seasonal wet areas. The closed canopy and large fruiting trees, not present in much of the surrounding landscape, provide refuge, habitat and nesting sites for many avian and reptilian species.

Monsoon Vine Thickets function as a network ecosystem and the movement of frugivorous (fruit- eating) birds, bats and mammals through themselves ensures sufficient species migration and gene flow to maintain the plant and animal communities in their fragmented state. Equally, the loss and degradation of a single patch can isolate patches reducing opportunities for species migration, increase the livelihood of local species extinction and compromise the ecological processes operating throughout the entire ecological community. The largest and most southern thicket is within Woodside's the proposed precinct area.

WOODSIDE’S LICENCE TO OCCUPY CROWN LAND IS ILLEGAL

The Licence to Occupy Crown Land (licence number 1606-2008-01) was granted on the 24th October 2009 in so called accordance with section 91 of the Land Administration Act 1997 for the purpose of site investigation activities associated with the establishment of the proposed Kimberly LNG gas precinct and associated facilities.



Apparently, this 91 Licence is currently the only document with any legislated base in which Woodside is allowed at all on Lot 259, Wattle Drive. However the following extracts from Freedom of Information (FOI) documents clearly outline how this Licence was granted. Relevant native title claimants have the rights to be notified , informed and provided informed consent before a licence of this nature is granted, however, the Goolarabooloo people were never notified and it is also brought to light in the FOI documents that KLC never granted them permission either. Because the KLC did not reply to correspondence it was interpreted as a no objections. However, this does not excuse DSD from not obtaining consent from the Goolarabooloo people. Interesting reading, please make the time to read.



Inevitably, because the State Government is ultimately the proponent for this proposed project, every state government department and many public servants involved in this proposed project have been compromised in upholding their statuary obligations or prescribed duties under various Acts.

Any complaints or enquires directed to any state government departments last year about all the illegal and destructive activities being undertaken by Woodside on Lot 259 were all systematically hand balled directly to the Department of State Development, where a no response was almost guaranteed.

Departments associated with this proposal: the Department of Water, the Department of Lands Administration, the Department of Indigenous Affairs, the Register for Indigenous Affairs, the State Police Force, the local Shire Council, Department of Environment and Conservation have over the past year failed in their statuary obligations to; enforcement, compliance, investigation, inspection, monitor, reporting findings, follow up investigations or complaints, understand the illegalities and implement penalties that should have be imposed. There is substantial evidence that Woodside had also seriously contravened this Licence and have breached several of the clauses within:

ADDITIONAL BREACHES TO THE LAND ADMINISTRATION ACT & APPLICANTS OWN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
The following clauses of the Licence have been breached by applicant (Woodside) over the last eight months;
4.1 COVENANTS WITH LICENSOR
The Licensee covenants with the Licensor that the Licensee and the Licensee’s Agents:
(a) Must not construct or erect or permit to be constructed or erected any permanent structure, improvement or fixture on the Licence Area.
In July 2011, Woodside commenced clearing activities in the Licence area and one of their first activities was the clearing of a 75m by 100m Lay Down Area (Industrial Area) that was originally enclosed by temporary fencing. However, in mid-October 2011, Woodside constructed a permanent fence. This involved the construction of many concrete footings for the fence poles. Photographs of the footings and fence can been provided on request. The installation of this fence was in direct breach of clause 4.1(a) of the Licence to Occupy and the Minister of Lands should have demanded its immediate removal once they were informed.
2.1 GRANT OF LICENCE
In consideration of the matters set out in this Licence and the payment of the Licence Fee by the Licensee to the Licensor, the Licensor hereby GRANTS to the Licensee a non-exclusive right for the term to enter upon and remain on and use the Licence Area, with such vehicles, machinery, plant or equipment as is reasonably necessary for the purpose of;
Site investigation activities associated with the establishment of the proposed Kimberly LNG gas precinct and associated facilities.
(the Permitted Use) in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in this Licence.
As stated in 2.1 of the Licence, Woodside has a non-exclusive right to occupy the Licence area. In the course of their site investigation activities, Woodside has created a grid network of tracks and drill pads within the licence area. There is a mapped historical track, known as the Biota track, which enters the licence area from the north east corner. Since July, Woodside has placed a locked gate across this track, where the Biota track intersects with their grid tracks. This has effectively blocked public access to the area and during the fires experienced in October 2011, cut off emergency fire escape routes.
Woodside also placed a locked gate at the entrance to the grid from Manari Rd and it has not been uncommon for Woodside to park a car across this entrance effectively blocking public access into the area. The community regularly accesses the area to monitor and audit the operations of Woodside / their contractors in addition to undertaking scientific research activities. Photographs of these locked gates are available on request.
These gates are in breach of clause 2.1 and the Broome Shire, Department of Land Administration all should have demanded their removal when informed of the situation. The presents of these locked gates are also an offence under the Land Administration (Land Management) Regulations 2006.
11. Protection of property
(1) A person must not, on regulated land, deface, damage or otherwise interfere with any-
(b) road, track or path, Unless the person is an authorised person acting in the course of the persons duties. Penalty: a fine of $1000.
19. General Behavior
(1) A person must not, on regulated land, use language or otherwise behave
in a Manner that-
(b) unreasonably interferes with the convenience, comfort or amenity of
any other
Person.
Penalty: a fine of $500.

Woodsides triple LNG trial | Petroleum Economist

Woodsides triple LNG trial | Petroleum Economist

Woodside retreats on Shell sale concern

Woodside retreats on Shell sale concern: Shares in Woodside Petroleum fell in early trading after comments overnight from Royal Dutch Shell that the European energy giant intends selling its remaining quarter stake in the company.

A key issue is whether the Shell holding will be sold in a single block, or are sold into the market, which could weigh on Woodside's the share price for some time.

Woodside shares were down as much as 30 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $33.85 before paring the loss to be off 19 cents in recent trading.

WA port shake-up to improve efficiency

WA port shake-up to improve efficiency: Premier Colin Barnett said with five new ports - at Barrow Island's Gorgon project, Wheatstone, Oakajee, James Price Point and Anketell - in the pipeline in addition to 21 existing, now was an appropriate time to reform management.

"Our ports facilitate the state's wealth and, by implementing a more efficient framework, the Liberal-National government will ensure that more of the wealth being generated is returned to the community through improved health, education, police and other services," he said.

Has Woodside hit its price point on the environment? | Article | The Punch

Has Woodside hit its price point on the environment? | Article | The Punch: The Browse Basin gas hub development has stoked up so much opposition on so many fronts that many investors are now asking if the project is still economically viable, or if in fact Woodside’s ‘social licence’ to proceed has disappeared in the red dust that graces the Kimberley coastline.

Australian business is all too familiar with the impact strident community opposition can have on controversial major projects, yet some large corporations and investors continue to discount the importance of maintaining their social licence and protecting the environment.

Such a scenario is playing out right now in the Kimberley where, despite a National Heritage listing in August that declared an area almost the size of Victoria to be worthy of protection, Woodside continues to push its $30+ billion gas project at James Price Point in the face of escalating barriers and community opposition.

Time and time again corporate Australia thinks it can push against the tide of public concern to drive projects through. Yet time and time again these same proponents come up against insurmountable discontent that ultimately blocks projects and can result in massive losses to shareholder value.

Jaxon Barnes left a comment on this article says:

09:54am | 01/02/12

We are talking about the biggest Gas hub in the southern hemisphere…

The proposal includes many significant construction processes including the clearing of 2400 hectares (24 square kilometres) of Pindan Woodlands and extremely rare Monsoon Vine Thicket plant communities and the dredging of the proposed port area. Both of these processes are very ecologically damaging. It is worth noting that dredging would be a permanent process.
Environmental impacts associated with this proposed development include:
• Sediment: Dredging releases sediment into the marine environment which causes impacts on light-dependant organisms such as corals and sea grass by smothering the organisms and cutting off the light required for photosynthesis. Suspended sediments impact on filter feeding organisms such as oysters and sponges by clogging their feeding mechanisms, essentially starving the animals. Other organisms such as fish are impacted by the clogging of their gills. There is a 50km2 ‘dead zone’ caused by this marine pollution.
• Humpback Whales: The largest Humpback whale nursery on Earth lies between Broome and Camden Sound on the Kimberley coast. The Kimberley coast is crucial habitat for the Humpback whale, a protected species in Australia. The Kimberley population of whales is internationally significant.
• Fish: James Price Point has been identified as a fish aggregation area, though scientific information is limited. It is likely that future studies will identify fish breeding sites and the dredging and blasting of coral reefs will destroy habitat.
• Turtles: Five marine turtle species, including Australia’s own Flatback turtle, are found in the Kimberley. Studies have identified the James Price point region as an important feeding area for turtles and nesting has been recorded in the area, though survey effort has been insufficient to date to have a clear idea of the significance of the area as a nesting beach. It is known from elsewhere that light pollution and other impacts from this sort of development can impact on turtle hatchling survival.
• Coral: A coral reef province of global significance extends along the Kimberley coast. The James Price Point area is no exception and the area under threat from development is home to many beautiful and diverse coral species.
• Snubfin dolphins: are Australia’s unique dolphin species. This species has been recently discovered by science and the Kimberley is crucial habitat. The latest research has identified that Snubfin families appear to spend much of their lives in very small territories close to shore. This means Snubfin populations can be heavily impacted by habitat destruction and unsustainable development.
• Reef blasting: the diverse coral and other communities are threatened by the extensive blasting that would be required for port and channel construction.
• Breakwater: the breakwater proposed for the area could be as large as 7km long. Such a large structure would interrupt and change the local current flows, and damage the local ecosystem during construction with unpredictable impacts.
• Seismic pollution (e.g. blasting and ship noise) – studies have implicated seismic pollution in changing migratory and other behaviour and whale stranding events.
• Air pollution: Toxic air pollution from the gas hub would release gasses from flare towers and other operations including poisonous nitrogen and sulfur compounds known to have negative impacts of human and wildlife health.
• Sea pollution: Continuous pollution and degradation of the marine environment from drilling, dredging, shipping, and pipelines being laid along the ocean floor.
• Water: A huge amount of fresh water would be required for this project. This will come from groundwater or desalination. The use of groundwater will have negative impacts on the waterholes and vegetation of the region. Desalination is an energy (greenhouse) intensive process that also releases highly saline water and chemicals into the marine environment.
• Impacts on Scott Reef: Woodside plan to put the rig that will pump oil and gas to James Price Point on top of the environmentally important and beautiful Scott Reef.
But your right Stuff the environment or sustainable industries… lets just mine it all!

Woodside gas hub approvals questioned - The West Australian

Woodside gas hub approvals questioned - The West Australian: An environmental group has accused Woodside Petroleum of trying to bypass legally required approvals for its proposed $30 billion gas hub in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

But Woodside says it has fulfilled all its requirements and is working with the State Government and the Shire of Broome on the liquified natural gas project.

Environs Kimberley says Woodside did not have shire approval for a laydown area with a fuel tank, transportable accommodation, offices, toilets, fences, gates, a vehicle washdown area and drilling.

Director Martin Pritchard said Woodside was originally granted approval from the shire in 2012 to develop some facilities but have since been working on other facilities and have not gained the appropriate approvals.