Justice Martin damning verdicts on its environmental approval process for James Price Point
1. Decision of Environmental Protection Authority to submit assessment report of Browse LNG Precinct Proposal is invalid
2. Decision of Minister for Environment to the effect that the Browse LNG Precinct Proposal may be implemented is invalid
3. Decision of Environmental Protection Authority to declare the a development proposal presented to the Authority by Woodside Energy Ltd a derived proposal is invalid
1. Decision of Environmental Protection Authority to submit assessment report of Browse LNG Precinct Proposal is invalid
2. Decision of Minister for Environment to the effect that the Browse LNG Precinct Proposal may be implemented is invalid
3. Decision of Environmental Protection Authority to declare the a development proposal presented to the Authority by Woodside Energy Ltd a derived proposal is invalid
PM - Environmentalists say James Price Point decision could have ramifications for other projects 19/08/2013
MARK COLVIN: In an extraordinary decision, the West Australian Supreme Court has ruled unlawful and invalid a number of the state's decisions to grant approval to the massive James Price Point gas hub.
The Chief Justice Wayne Martin issued damning rulings on three of the Environmental Protection Authority's approvals.
The reason: major financial conflicts of interest.
The Chief Justice said the majority of the board members had a financial interest in the matter but were still allowed to be involved in the approval process.
His decision also condemns the then environment minister for giving the go ahead despite the conflicts.
Caitlyn Gribbin reports.
Photo Damian Kelly
Posts
Legal blow for Kimberley gas hub
ReplyDeleteDefiant West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has attempted to shrug off the embarrassing legal defeat which places even more doubt around the proposed multi-billion dollar gas hub in the Kimberley.
Mr Barnett's dream of a massive onshore gas hub at James Price Point was dealt yet another blow on Monday, when WA's Chief Justice Wayne Martin ruled the environmental approval for the project was unlawful.
The proposed scheme was already in limbo, after energy giant Woodside announced earlier this year it would instead consider processing Browse Basin gas on a vessel stationed far offshore.
On Monday, Justice Martin gave the government another major headache, handing down damning verdicts on its environmental approval process.
Mr Barnett described the ruling as 'regrettable' - and signalled the government would fight on.
'The decision relates to the process ... he did not in any way question the environmental conditions or approvals themselves,' Mr Barnett said.
'All the environmental evidence and surveys and research has been done over many, many years. I am confident that still stands.
'It is now simply up to the state government to resubmit the environmental evidence and the recommendations on conditions attached to the use of James Price Point. That is, in all likelihood, what we will do.'
The Wilderness Society, and Goolarabooloo elder Richard Hunter, had argued conflicts of interest in the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment process resulted in just one EPA board member - chairman Paul Vogel - making the final decision.
They also said the state's then-environment minister Bill Marmion had erred by granting his approval despite the conflicts. Chief Justice Martin agreed with both arguments.
'The minister's statement that the Browse LNG Precinct proposal could be implemented subject to conditions was not a valid exercise of the powers conferred upon the minister,' the judgment said.
Peter Robertson of The Wilderness Society says the onshore project is now 'dead and buried'.
'Premier Colin Barnett must face facts, drop this unhealthy obsession,' Mr Robertson said.
He also called on both Mr Vogel and Mr Marmion to resign, which Mr Barnett dismissed.
Mr Hunter said the ruling was also a vindication for the land's traditional owners.
'Our people are strong - we won't be bullied into a corner by the government,' Mr Hunter said.
After Woodside dumped plans for a liquefied natural gas processing facility at James Price Point in April, the WA government went ahead with acquiring the land, saying it wanted to keep the area available for future projects.
Asked why the WA government would not simply abandon its bid, Mr Barnett said: 'I don't give up'.
It is open to the WA government to appeal against the ruling, but the Wilderness Society warned it would then cross-appeal.
Supreme Court chief justice rules against controversial Kimberley gas hub approvals
ReplyDeleteWestern Australia's Chief Justice has ruled that some of the environmental approvals for the controversial $40 billion Kimberley gas hub were unlawful.
Chief Justice Wayne Martin ruled that three of the Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) decisions to grant approval to the project were unlawful and invalid.
The EPA's chairman Paul Vogel made the final decision on the project on his own.
He decided to allow the project to go ahead at James Price Point, north of Broome, after four out of five EPA board members declared conflicts of interest.
Dr Vogel had allowed three of the board members to be a part of the early decision-making process.
The Chief Justice said the decisions taken at those meetings were invalid.
Audio: Environmentalists say James Price Point decision could have ramifications for other projects (PM)
The Wilderness Society and traditional owner Richard Hunter last year launched legal action against the EPA and the Environment Minister over the approvals for the gas hub, which would accommodate Woodside.
Woodside subsequently scrapped its onshore processing plans due to escalating costs, however, the court proceedings continued.
The Wilderness Society's Peter Robertson has called for Dr Vogel and former environment minister Bill Marmion to stand down.
"As soon as we discovered the extent of the conflicts of interest on the EPA board, before they made their decision, we wrote to the EPA and we wrote to the Minister and said they cannot proceed with this decision," he said.
"[Marmion] was told at that time that he should not proceed with that decision because it was likely to be unlawful and he ignored that.
"They ignored us and I believe [Vogel] has made a fatal error in judgement and his position as chairman of the EPA now very much needs to be brought into question."
The WA Premier Colin Barnett says the EPA members and the EPA chairman have done nothing wrong.
"In no way did they behave improperly or seek to gain in any way so their integrity is not in doubt at all," he said.
Mr Robertson has previously said that once the EPA members declared their conflict, a separate group of people should have been appointed to assess the project.
"Instead of having a minimum of three EPA board members, they reduced it to just one member of the five member EPA board making the final decision," he said.
"That is just a gross misuse of decision making processes of the EPA."
Supreme Court chief justice rules against controversial Kimberley gas hub approvals...cont...
ReplyDelete'Sad state of affairs'
WA's Opposition Leader Mark McGowan says the process around the gas hub project was mishandled from the beginning and the Government needs to be held accountable.
"The minister of the day bears responsibility but also the Premier bears responsibility," he said.
"This was his project, he was the one who mucked it up, he was the one who put the Kimberley through all this turmoil.
"He's the one who has cost the state so many millions of dollars."
The Wilderness Society says the legal challenge was expensive but it felt it had to go ahead with it.
"[It's about] restoring some confidence and faith in the way that the EPA operates and the way it conducts its environmental assessments," Mr Robertson said.
"If groups like us don't do things like this then they, the Government, will end up getting away with very shonky decision making processes and that can't be allowed to happen."
"When you see an independent statutory body being reduced to nothing more than basically a political facilitation agency for the government, then that's a very, very sad state of affairs for Western Australia, and for our environment and future generations."
Government to seek advice on ruling
Environment Minister Albert Jacob says he will seek advice from the State Solicitors' Office on the ruling.
"From my experience, those rulings are generally fairly lengthy and require some good reading and good consideration," he said.
He says he will comment on the ruling later.
The head of the EPA is on a site visit in the Goldfields but a spokeswoman says necessary steps will be taken once the authority has fully considered the ruling.
The state has been ordered to pay two-thirds of the Wilderness Society's legal costs.
The ruling could also have ramifications for other projects.
Lawyer Patrick Pearlman says other decisions made by the EPA could be called into question.
"My understanding is that there are a number of other EPA proceedings in which questions about section 12 interests arose and I've got a number, something like 40 running around in my head, where that question applies," he said.
"Whether or not it has any fallout from that, I suppose, is probably something for Parliament."
The Wilderness Society hopes the court ruling will be the end of any development at James Price Point, and says it will fight any further development applications.
The Greens have also called on the Government to abandon any future attempts to industrialise the site but Mr Barnett says the government will most likely re-submit its plans to the EPA.
The Premier is confident the original approval will stand.
"Most fair-minded people would acknowledge that the environmental decision itself is correct, what was invalid is the actual process," he said.
The State Government has been pushing ahead with plans to compulsorily acquire the land.
It plans to secure almost 3,500 hectares of land on the coast north of Broome in case other companies would like to pursue the development.
Woodside, with its partner Shell, is believed to be pursuing floating LNG technology for its Browse Basin gas, an offshore processing option.
West Australian gas project approval ruled unlawful
ReplyDeleteTHE West Australian government has been dealt an embarrassing blow, with a court ruling unlawful its environmental approval for a planned multi-billion dollar gas hub in the Kimberley.
The proposed onshore gas hub at James Price Point is already in limbo after energy giant Woodside announced earlier this year it would instead consider processing Browse Basin gas on a vessel stationed far offshore, despite fervent backing for a land-based hub by Premier Colin Barnett.
Today, Chief Justice Wayne Martin gave the government another major headache, handing down damning verdicts on its environmental approval process.
The Wilderness Society, and Goolarabooloo elder Richard Hunter, had argued conflicts of interest in the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment process resulted in just one EPA board member - chairman Paul Vogel - making the final decision.
They also said the state's then-environment minister Bill Marmion had erred by granting his approval despite the conflicts.
Chief Justice Martin agreed with both arguments.
“The minister's statement that the Browse LNG Precinct proposal could be implemented subject to conditions was not a valid exercise of the powers conferred upon the minister,” the judgment said.
It is open to the WA government to appeal the ruling, but the Wilderness Society warned it would then cross-appeal.
It could also mean any environmental approval process for the Browse project may have to be started again, which could take years.
Peter Robertson of The Wilderness Society says the onshore project is now “dead and buried”.
“Premier Colin Barnett must face facts, drop this unhealthy obsession,” Mr Robertson said.
He also called on both Mr Vogel and Mr Marmion to resign.
“I believe Mr Vogel made a fatal error and his position as chairman of the EPA should be brought into question,” Mr Robertson said.
“I would say the same thing about the minister - he was told at the time this decision was likely to be unlawful and he ignored that, and that is on his head.”
Mr Hunter said the ruling was also a vindication for the land's traditional owners.
“Our people are strong - we won't be bullied into a corner by the government,” Mr Hunter said.
After Woodside dumped plans for a liquefied natural gas processing facility at James Price Point in April, the WA government went ahead with acquiring the land, saying it wanted to keep the area available for future projects.
Albert Jacob, WA's current environment minister, said the government is digesting the decision and will seek advice from the State Solicitor's Office.
Browse gas project approval 'invalid'
ReplyDeleteWA's top judge has delivered the Barnett Government a humiliating blow, setting aside its environmental approvals for the contentious Kimberley gas hub as invalid.
In the process, Supreme Court Justice Wayne Martin has demolished the Government's immediate plans to push ahead and acquire land at James Price Point.
Handing down his judgment on whether the Government's environmental approvals for project were legitimate, Justice Martin ruled the process had miscarried and the approvals were unlawful.
The judgment came after the Wilderness Society had appealed the approval, which was granted by former environment minister Bill Marmion in November.
Mr Marmion's approval was based on a report from the Environmental Protection Authority recommending the Browse gas hub go ahead, despite all-but one of its board being removed from deliberations over conflicts of interest.
Two of the four conflicted board members only disclosed their interests at the end of 2011 and were not dismissed from deliberations until February last year.
Although EPA chairman Paul Vogel, who prepared the watchdog's report alone in a matter of months, insisted the conflicts were of a "procedural" nature and did not compromise the Browse conclusions, Justice Martin disagreed.
This morning's ruling means the Government faces lengthy delays if it wants to realise its dreams of developing a gas processing precinct in the Kimberley.
Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the Government would consider the decision but would not be drawn on a possible appeal.
“We will be considering that ruling very closely and then getting advice from the State Solicitors Office as to where we go from here,” he said.
“Those rulings are generally fairly lengthy and will require some good reading and some good consideration.”
Wilderness Society director Peter Robertson said today's events had justified the green group's concerns over the James Price Point process and discredited the Government's claims its environmental approvals for the project were sound.
Mr Robertson said the EPA should never have proceeded to deliberate on its report for the project while conflicted board members were present and Mr Marmion should never have accepted its recommendations given such issues.
Asked whether Justice Martin's ruling had implications for Dr Vogel's position as EPA chairman, Mr Robertson said it clearly threw into doubt his judgment but his employment was a matter for Government.
However, he said Mr Marmion, who is now Mines and Petroleum Minister, should be sacked, claiming he was ultimately responsible for accepting the EPA's tainted report.
Environmentalists gear up for legal fights after gas hub declared illegal
ReplyDeleteWestern Australia's supreme court decides that the proposed facility at James Price Point should not have been approved
Environmental groups are gearing up for a succession of legal battles over developments after the Western Australian supreme court ruled the environmental approval of a $40bn gas hub was illegal.
WA chief justice Wayne Martin decided that the proposed facility at James Price Point in the Kimberley should not have been approved due to an invalid environmental approval process.
The judgment is a further embarrassing blow to WA premier Colin Barnett, who has enthusiastically backed the onshore development despite Woodside, the lead consortium partner, dropping its plans to build the hub in April. It’s expected that a floating platform will be used to extract gas from the Browse Basin instead.
Chief justice Martin ruled that Christopher Whitaker, Denis Glennon and Rodney Lukatelich, members of the WA Environmental Protection Authority, had suffered a series of conflicts of interest, and should not have participated in the decision-making process. Even though one member, chairman Paul Vogel, who had no conflict of interest, made the final assessment, the court found that the decision was invalid.
He also ruled that the decision by Bill Marmion, then environment minister, to approve the plan despite was invalid because it relied on the EPA’s invalid assessment report.
The judgment stated: “The minister's statement that the Browse LNG Precinct proposal could be implemented subject to conditions was not a valid exercise of the powers conferred upon the minister.”
The Wilderness Society, which brought the case with Goolarabooloo elder Richard Hunter, said that the gas hub, which triggered widespread community protests across the Kimberley, could be the first of many contentious development plans if environmental approvals are handed over to the states.
The Coalition has said it will devolve assessments to states should it win power at the election, with the formation of rapid “one-stop shops” that will shrink federal oversight of large-scale developments.
Barnett said that he accepted the court's decision but that the process could be started again and handled by the state.
“This was a technical legal issue. We are capable of doing some of the world’s best work here; who is going to be better in Canberra to handle environmental issues than us?” he said.
Lyndon Schneiders, campaign director at the Wilderness Society, told Guardian Australia that the environmental movement was gearing up for a series of court cases to “hold the line” against ecologically damaging industrialisation.
“We are looking a big change on how we interact with big developments,” he said. “Previously, we had a degree of faith that the government would look after the public interest, but after the Business Council of Australia started the push against so-called green tape last year, it seems we are looking at more of a litigation culture, like the US.”
“If businesses want to devolve decision making, they should be careful what they wish for. It only creates more investor uncertainty for them. This isn’t a fight we have looked for, but we’re in it for the long haul.”
Schneiders said that the Places You Love group, a coalition of more than 40 environmental organisations, has discussed how to react to what it claims is a watering down of environmental protections.
“We will be looking to the courts to enforce standards – this will be an increasing part of our campaigning,” he said. “We will look at opportunities to go to the courts when state governments look to override the environment and human rights.
“This wasn’t a cheap case but we were overwhelmed by the response from our members. Many of our members don’t really believe in government any more and understand that we may spend less money on other activities if the courts are the ones to protect the environment and nature.”
Resources minister Gary Gray and WA Premier Colin Barnett in war of words over Browse Basin letter
ReplyDeleteFEDERAL Resources Minister Gary Gray has hit back at claims he told the Barnett Government to "give up its rights" to the Browse Basin development - suggesting it was "inappropriate" for the WA Premier to discuss his letter.
On Thursday, Premier Colin Barnett told Parliament he had received a letter from Mr Gray which argued WA should “give up its rights” and remove all conditions that would bring any part of the Browse gas development onshore.
Mr Gray said today he did not believe it was appropriate for Mr Barnett to have revealed the contents of his letter.
“It wouldn’t normally be the habit of a Commonwealth minister to describe in public the detail of correspondence which we send to premiers, heads of government or ministers,” he said.
“The letter was both written and posted before the Government went into caretaker mode.
“It would have been received by Premier Barnett sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.”
He said he thought it was necessary to make the Premier aware of information about the Browse project “he seemed not to be aware of.”
“The correspondence attempted to describe to the Premier that of all of the oil and gas resources that are in the Browse Basin 95 per cent or more and in Commonwealth waters or in the portions of leases that are controlled by the Commonwealth,” Mr Gray said.
“Less than five per cent is actually in state waters or in leases controlled by the State Government.
“And so therefore the purpose of my correspondence was to say to the Premier with less than five per cent of the resource in WA’s control and with that portion of the resource being a very difficult part to develop, its call the Terosa field, it may well be an imprudent thing for the Premier to encumber that small proportion of the field with a very large potential investment cost of up to $2 billion.”
Mr Gray also denied his advice would cost WA jobs. He said onshore development had been ruled out by investors.
“There are no jobs,” he said.
“There is no income. There is no royalty stream for Western Australia. There is no income tax benefit for the Commonwealth. No company tax for the Commonwealth. No PRRT benefit. No benefit for the Kimberley coast.
“The project no longer exists. The investors have walked away.”
He said floating LNG had “real prospects” and would enable Western Australia to meet the demands of its Northern Asian market by 2020.
Union protests in Broome and Barrow Island
ReplyDeleteUnion workers are staging a sit-in on board a cargo vessel docked at Broome, to protest against an $8.5 million State Budget cut.
The Maritime Union of Australia say ship workers have begun the sit-in to protest against the removal of the subsidy to the service, which ships goods to the WA's north.
That has led to the cancellation of the service, with the final voyage taking place this week.
MUA State Secretary Christy Cain said the cancellation of the service was bad news for many in the north-west.
"Without this shipping service, the price of almost everything in the north west will go up, because all these goods will now have to be put on trucks, and road freight is about 25 per cent more expensive," Mr Cain said.
"Plus, the more trucks we have on the roads, the less safe it is for workers and families on the roads."
Meanwhile, 2,500 workers have marched around the Gorgon work camp on Barrow Island in protest over accommodation.
Workers at the massive gas project have been offered $125 a day to share bunk beds with someone on an opposite shift, a move that has angered union leaders and some workers.
.............
Protest over Gorgon bunk share offer
More than 2000 workers on the $52 billion Gorgon gas project staged a protest at the weekend over bunk bed arrangements for workers.
The workers were on a day off when they walked through the Barrow Island camp to show anger at fly-in, fly-out workers who accepted an offer to earn an extra $125 a day for sharing a room.
Last week The West Australian reported that the workers had turned on their colleagues calling them "scabs" on social media for accepting the offer.
The bunk bed arrangement has been offered for years but the backlash started only weeks ago when those opting to share a room started copping abuse from angry unionists.
Workers are given the extra money to share a bunk bed with someone on an opposite shift, with one assigned the room to sleep while the other is at work.
CFMEU assistant secretary Joe McDonald said the unionists were angry that workers were accepting an extra $800 a week to share rooms because there were fears that all workers would eventually be made to share without compensation.
"I remember the struggle to get individual accommodation, and now some workers are giving it away," Mr McDonald said.
AMWU secretary Steve McCartney said FIFO workers started losing hard-won conditions in 2010 when "motelling" was introduced at Woodside's Pluto site, forcing workers to change dongas at the start of every swing.
"Motelling started this slippery slope and we don't know where it will end," he said. "Multinationals will stop at nothing in their pursuit of extra profits."
Mr McCartney would not rule out industrial action if the practice was forced on workers.
A spokesman for major Gorgon joint venture partner Chevron said the arrangement was necessary because of a shortage of beds during its peak construction period.
"A proportion of rooms at the project's camp are being converted to dual occupancy, with these rooms being occupied by two people on opposite shifts," he said.
Union stages industrial action as shipping route to northern towns cancelled
ReplyDeleteThe cancellation of the only shipping service connecting Perth and the state's northern towns has sparked industrial action amid concerns of increased living costs.
The State Government provides an $8 million a year subsidy of the only shipping route that runs from Perth to Darwin, providing a freight service to the towns of Karratha, Hedland, Broome and Wyndham.
The company involved has pulled out because the shipping route is no longer viable and the State Government is unlikely to re-offer the subsidy, funded through to 2015.
Broome Chamber of Commerce president Tony Proctor says it is a blow for northern communities which will now have to rely solely on more expensive road transport.
"It seems to me to be a very myopic bureaucratic, ill-informed recommendation to Government," he said.
"I think it was quite illogical, one-sided and without any consideration for the needs of developing the north-west, and providing a viable and alternative transport option as well as employment opportunities."
The Maritime Union of Australia says 25 jobs will be lost.
Some of its members are staging a sit-in on the government-subsidised ship which is currently docked at Broome port, and due to make its last cargo delivery.
The striking unionists are refusing to unload the ship's cargo until the Government agrees to try and re-start the service.
The MUA's assistant state secretary Will Tracey says it's an issue that'll affect all north-west residents.
"We'd see a minimum of a 25 per cent increase in the cost of goods to these north-west communities," he said.
"We've also got a number of key businesses in the north west, there's a minimum of about 15 or 20 of these businesses are using this service now on an ongoing basis."
Mr Tracey says they will continue the industrial action.
"This current sit-in will last until we get someone to listen to us," he said.
"The problem we've had at the moment is that there's been a refusal by the government to engage on this issue.
"I guess one of the things we're wondering is, not only have we got concerns about what Barnett's done, but where's Brendon Grylls? He's the Member for Pilbara."
The Transport Minister Troy Buswell says the union is ill-informed and trying to capitalise on a commercial situation it knows nothing about.
In a written statement, the Minister says the shipping company involved sought an extra $154,000 in funding per week - on top of the existing subsidy - which the State Government was not prepared to offer.
He adds the contract was funded through to 2015, and the company's decision to cancel the service early was not related to any reduction or changes to the subsidy.
Woodside to use floating LNG technology to process Browse Basin gas
ReplyDeleteWoodside has announced it will proceed with plans to use floating LNG technology to process gas from the Kimberley's Browse Basin.
The oil and gas giant has told the Australian Stock Exchange it plans to use Shell's floating LNG technology.
Woodside decided in April it would not be commercially viable to process gas onshore at James Price Point, north of Broome.
Yesterday, WA's chief justice ruled the approvals process for the onshore project was 'unlawful' and invalid.
Today's FLNG decision requires approval from Woodside's Browse joint venture partners.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-20/woodside-to-use-flng-to-process-browse-basin-gas/4899026?section=wa
Another step closer to Browse FLNG
ReplyDeleteWest Australian Premier Colin Barnett's push to keep the Browse gas project onshore has suffered another blow, with lead proponent Woodside recommending a floating offshore project to its joint venture partners.
The Perth-based oil and gas giant earlier this year indefinitely shelved plans to build a multi-user gas processing hub at James Price Point, north of Broome - despite having already cleared state environmental approval hurdles - saying it would consider other development scenarios including floating LNG.
On Monday, WA's Chief Justice Wayne Martin handed down his finding in a Supreme Court challenge to the environmental approval, deeming it unlawful.
The Wilderness Society, and Goolarabooloo elder Richard Hunter, had argued conflicts of interest in the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment process resulted in just one EPA board member - chairman Paul Vogel - making the final decision.
They also said the state's then-environment minister Bill Marmion had erred by granting his approval despite the conflicts. Chief Justice Martin agreed with both arguments.
And on Tuesday, Woodside said it had resolved to recommend to its Browse joint venture participants - Japan's Mitsui, PetroChina, Shell and BP - to use floating LNG (FLNG) technology to commercialise the project's three gas fields.