Media Statements - Results

Media Statements - Results:
Environment Minister Bill Marmion has appointed Dr Roy Green to investigate more than 200 appeals received regarding the Environmental Protection Authority’s report on the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Precinct at James Price Point.


Dr Green has considerable experience in government and the petroleum industry, including chairing an expert panel for quarantine management at the Gorgon LNG Project on Barrow Island Nature Reserve.


“Dr Green is appointed as an appeals committee (again only one more man in a Committee????????) and will investigate all appeals received,” Mr Marmion said.

Construction of a three-train, 15 MMt/a LNG plant on Barrow Island. At James Price Point they are proposing to construct a 50 MMt/a LNG plant, one of the largest in the world.

 

 

“He has previously been the chief executive of the CSIRO and deputy chairman of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), and as such, is considered to have an eminent standing to undertake the committee role.”

Dr Roy Green  AO, DSc (Hon), FTSE, FAIP, FIP, formerly the deputy head of WA's Environmental Protection Authority, in 2000 was working as a consultant scrutinising British company Pangea's plan to bury nuclear waste in the WA outback.

He believed the Pangea proposal deserved proper examination.

"I am convinced the only real way forward for the radioactive waste that's around now is to bury it," he said. "Leaving it on the surface isn't a way forward."

Dr Green was appointed to the EPA in May 1998 and took over as deputy chairman in January 2000.

He is a Physicist.

Roy Green was the Chairman of Australia's National Heritage Trust - the National Land and Water Resources Audit. He was Deputy Chairman of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority, and a member of the Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee. Roy Green also chaired the Maritime Education and Research Alliance.

Previous appointments include Chief Executive of CSIRO, Director of CSIRO’s Institute of Natural Resources land Environment, and Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Departments of Science and Technology, Science and Industry, and Technology and Commerce. He was also Australian delegate to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and Secretary of the Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC). Roy Green was Chair of the Pulp and Paper Research Advisory Board, the Australian Marine Science and Technology Ltd., and of the Heads of Marine Agencies. He has also been a member of the State of the Environment Advisory Council, the Australian Marine Industries and Sciences Council, the Australian Space Council, and the Centre for Innovation and International Competitiveness at the University of Sydney.

Roy Green completed a Bachelor’s degree in the UK and an MA and PhD in physics in Canada.. He is an Officer in the Order of Australia, and has an honorary Doctorate of Science from Curtin University. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics, the Institute of Physics, and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE).

In 2004 he was one of the four members of ANSTO's external Technical Advisory Committee

In 2005 Dr Roy Green, former deputy chair of the Environmental Protection Authority, headed up the Greenhouse and Energy Taskforce that would advise the Government on practical and economically feasible ways to manage greenhouse gas emissions from the stationary (non-transport) energy sector.

He was the Chairman of the EPA Review Committee into Fire Management in the Kimberley and other Rangeland Regions of Western Australia in 2006

 

Grandmothers fined over Broome gas protest | The Australian

Grandmothers fined over Broome gas protest | The Australian: The two women issued a statement following their appearance in the Broome Magistrates Court on Monday saying they had wanted to draw attention to their campaign.

"My only regret is that we couldn't stop Woodside's work entirely," Ms Batten said.

Ms Weguelin added: "We wanted to show that the Broome community does not want this development. We are local residents objecting to what is happening here. We are looking after the future of our town."


Published on Jul 30, 2012 by ali batten

On the 18th of May 2012 a lock on action was initiated on Manari Road, near James Price Point; with the objective of stopping Woodside's convoy of equipment and machinery. In this short clip, the police clear our possessions from the van in an attempt to remove our lock on devices. We had no problem with the police shown in this video - we were there to stop Woodside's access to Country.

Bob Brown on Sea Shepherd mission to Kimberley | Crikey

Bob Brown on Sea Shepherd mission to Kimberley | Crikey:

Sea Shepherd aims to have the whales of the Kimberley heard across Australia, and we have invited every one of the 216 MPs in Canberra to come to Broome in August to see why this wealthy nation can, and should, keep the whale nursery, the dinosaur tracks and the traditional owners’ songcycles intact. Woodside, unlike the whales, can flourish somewhere else.

The Kimberley: The Right Thing Or Ka-Ching? | The Global Mail

The Kimberley: The Right Thing Or Ka-Ching? | The Global Mail




If someone tells me to stop imagining that we are having an impact, than I will refer them to WOODSIDE Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney’s words“protesters are really a handful of people who I think are anarchistic in their approach -- that is, they don't accept the decision of the umpire and they go their own way and try to stop projects,"

So what is Mr Chaney really saying? That 79% of the Broome community are only a handful of people who are anarchistic because they seek to ensure that their environment, lifestyle, and that a healthy future is left intact for their children; that we don't accept the decision of the umpire because we have all come to realize that the game has been match fixed.  He has been drawn out of his safe assured cocoon of corporate illusion and is starting to feel that maybe, just maybe the Broome community with its unbridled commitment will stop this idiocy.

What Mr Chaney needs to understand is the fact that this community has been watching this so called process unfold over several years now. During that time they have witnessed how corruption seems to be the blue print that has been written into the process itself. Outrages acts of intimidation, devaluing  of cultural heritage and connection to Country, manipulation of the science, the hiding of facts, the buying of silence and changing of the science, disempowerment of our elected local government, the sidestepping of  legal consequences, the criminalisation of a small community and a complete arrogant indifference  shown to our community.
This community has realized that the umpire (the WA state government) is actually the proponent, that the rules are changed throughout the game and the fact that not only are the goal posts being constantly moved but so are all the boundaries lines of decency and integrity.
Many Broome residents, who were originally sucked into Woodside propaganda and really thought that being gassed would be good for them and their children, are starting to change their mind.  Even if they supported the project itself, its all the erosion of social justice that are turning their heads. The division it has created in the community, the imposition of having our town turn into a police state overnight, the manipulation of the courts and the diminishing of a community’s strongly hold their values of mutual respect for cultural differences. People like to see justice serviced because it is just, not something that is based on what you can afford.
The delays, blockades and court challenges have created time, which has enabled us to snap the community out of the hypnotic corporatism coma, into the light of rationality and truth;  a space in which the community has been able to educate themselves about the ramifications and the impacts of being gassed.
They have also witness firsthand what Woodside have already brought to this community, hundreds of police to intimidate us from objecting to their evil plans to destroy community, country and culture.  A new power order that has more influence and control over us than our elected local government or dare I say police force.
Chaney’s elites drinking mates would hate to acknowledge it, but when large numbers of ordinary people are moved to action, it is a major concern but when a whole community starts to turn against you, you are forced to come out and start calling them names. Who is this man to speak of respecting legal process?  Like someone noted on the blog recently “This is what the Nazis did prior to WW2, they observed legal process in Germany at the time. The Nuremberg laws were simply a means to an end for them to feign legality for their real intentions.” I have seen so many similarities and over the last five years imposed on this community, by Woodside as they try to bully us into being a community that is subservient to them, their wants and needs regardless of everyone or anything.
It is the biodiversity of this Campaign’s approaches and all-encompassing angles of defense, research, education and protection on local, nation and more and more international levels and it is this environment that has finally drawn Cheney out of his illustrations of grandeur.
The goal of this man and the corporate state that supports his Woodside’s baby is like that of any totalitarian entity, they seek to create a society where no one has the capacity to resist and if communities do, they resort to using a police force to carry out their will, fine people out of the debate or serve move-ons notices or strict bail conditions to keep them out of Country.
This Campaign has proved through vigorous community science and research that Woodside are not being honest when they speak about the whales, billies, Monsoonal Vine Thickets, water use, dinosaur track sites, turtles, social impacts and the economics of this proposed project.
Every one of those issues has its own nail for this proposed project’s coffin. This Campaign has a whole series of tech-screws holding down the lid of this proposal, but still it refuses to lie down and die.
Why? because corporations do not actually live, therefore they cannot die. Everyone reading this is going to die.  You are, I assure you and so will I because it is this gift of death is what defines us. That gift is what makes us human, the arc of our days ensures that we would live a life that is measured. Corporations do not die and they have no conception of death. They just go and on and on, and on because there is no arc to them. There is nothing human in them but the only thing that can stop them is the human in all of us.

What has taken placed just to get Woodside and the state government this far along this so called process has been degrading and fraudulent. This process which our community has been dragged through can only have one predetermined and managed outcome, that Woodside get everything they want and the state government get their massive port installation on the Kimberley coast.

We have been subjected to the whittling down of local planning regulations, Illegal works, destruction of Culture heritage sites, retrospective changes to laws and planning approvals, manipulation of scientific reports, conflicted members of a so called independent EPA board, debatable report & unethical process, two compulsory acquisition, an Improvement Plan,  political influence and interference in the courts, criminalization and surveillance of a whole community,  manipulation of media that goes on and on and on.

It is pretty obvious really! People do not support or like this type of corporate behavior or the antics of a state government acting as a dictatorship. The Broome community is living in the era of the ascendancy of the corporation who are endowed with the rights of people and none of the responsibilities. Woodside has proven they have no actual concern for community or human values and are highly corrosive to all issues associated with social justice. Why do they not have the courage to look at the truth about their proposed flawed proposal, say “we have made a silly mistake” and leave?

This Campaign is just about to really find it’s feet, why because many more people are understanding that this campaign is now much more than just the Browse gas this is now a campaign that also seeks to bring ethics back into this sphere of debate. It’s not about name calling it is about not leaving this world more shittier, damaged or polluted. Hands Off Country

Summary sheet for Appeals against the EPA’s report and recommendations –

Attached are just a few problems with the EPA Report on James Price Point. There are many, many more issues that need closer inspection. If you would like to write an appeal, this document may help get you started.

You can have a look at the EPA Report here:

http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/EIA/EPAReports/Pages/default.aspx?cat=Appeal%20on%20EPA%20Report%20and%20Recommendations&url=EIA/EPAReports

You can find out how to lodge an appeal here:
http://portal.appealsconvenor.wa.gov.au/portal/page?_pageid=1258,5507317&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

“James Price Point gas hub strategic assessment” (EPA Report 1444, July 2012)

The Wilderness Society : July 2012 : wa@wilderness.org.au
This guide is intended to help people and organisations prepare appeals against the EPA’s report and recommendations on the proposed Kimberley (James Price Point) gas hub. Any member of the public can lodge an appeal HERE. The cost is $10. Appeals must be submitted via post or email by 5pm, Monday 30 July 2012.

Have a look at what environmental groups have previously told the EPA at: http://www.wilderness.org.au/files/james-price-point-science-assessment-report

Have a read through the EPA report and form your own views about what you consider might be missing.

What are your reasons for considering that the Environment Minister should reject the EPA’s recommendation?
Please read the below information which you might like to include in your appeal…
Process Issues:

EPA utterly fails to assess impacts of proposal
Reading the EPA report it is clear that the EPA has utterly failed to carry out a strategic environmental impact assessment of the proposed Browse LNG gas hub at James Price Point (JPP) and in so doing has breached its obligations under the Environment Protection Act. Time and time again in the absence of adequate and reliable information from the proponent (WA Department of State Development (DSD)) about the hub design and its impacts, the EPA simply gives DSD the benefit of the doubt and claims that “impacts can be managed provided conditions are complied with”. The EPA then sets out 29 ‘strict’ conditions which require DSD to submit 31 new environmental plans, reports, studies, surveys, strategies, protocols, programs and procedures. The public will have no involvement in this, despite these new documents covering key issues of public concern, e.g. water use.

Project plans concealed from public and altered, without any public input or assessment
Over the past 18 months since the Draft Strategic Assessment Report was released for public comment, people have continuously requested better information on the proposed extent, layout and impacts of the project. This included information on such basic issues as where the huge volume of freshwater required would be sourced from and its potential impacts on local aquifers, and the dimensions and impacts of required shipping channels, breakwaters and seawalls. Not only has this information been withheld, under the pretext that such ‘details’ will become public ‘later’ when an actual LNG project is submitted, but the public has just learned via the release of the EPA’s report, that the proponent has fundamentally changed the possible port design:

“More recent Precinct designs include an option where significant elements of the ‘Integrated marine facility’ (IMF) are excavated from the existing coastline resulting in an inland harbour where saltwater may extend to a distance of approx. 330 m inland from its current location under all tidal conditions. The presence of saltwater 330 m inland has potential to allow saltwater to intrude further into the aquifer than it does currently. The EPA is aware of physical interventions and other techniques to avoid and manage this issue and recommends that they be applied to detailed designs for derived proposals” (EPA p.129)
The lack of adequate information presented to the public on key issues, and the unannounced changing of project plans, means the EPA’s public assessment process has been a sham.

Unreliable studies, no peer review.
Most of the environmental studies carried out by the gas hub proponents are unreliable due to lack of sufficient time and poor study design. For example, as a result of poor study design, the proponent failed to identify beaches close to James Price Point (JPP) as important turtle nesting sites, mainly because they carried out surveys during non-nesting season. Similarly the proponent’s studies failed to identify endangered Bilbies in the JPP area, while community volunteers did. The proponent’s work on whales and dolphins was also strongly criticised by experts. These problems were compounded by the refusal of the proponents to submit their work to peer review by independent scientists, as was required under the Strategic Assessment Scoping Report (see Section 14, p180).

Despite serious flaws in most of its studies, the proponent was only required by the EPA on two occasions to submit its work to peer review (dinosaur tracksites and Bilbies) and only then after independent scientists and community volunteers had exposed the poor science in the original studies. The peer review of the proponent’s Bilby studies said, “[It] needs to be recognised that a number of the studies conducted within the James Price Point area were unsuited to document Bilby occurrence. This is because these surveys were untargeted to detect Bilby sign at a regional scale or the personnel were inexperienced in distinguishing sign”.

Environmental consultants with conflicts of interest
One of the main private environmental consultancy firms employed by the government was AECOM Ltd, which has so far been paid over $4.5 million for its JPP studies (Legislative Council Question on Notice 5127). AECOM has a serious potential conflict of interest in that it is lining up to earn millions more from the gas hub by becoming a ‘project partner’ in building parts of the gas hub infrastructure (e.g. a new highway from Broome to James Price Point). AECOM is notorious for having carried out surveys for Bilbies around the proposed gas hub and finding none, while a group of volunteers subsequently filmed colonies of Bilbies in the same area.

Assessment of alternative sites not done
“The Report [SAR] must include…an analysis of technically and economically viable gas processing options outside the Kimberley focussing on locations that already have substantial industrial infrastructure, inclusive of floating LNG.” (Browse LNG Strategic Assessment Agreement (2008))
Despite the requirement for an assessment of gas processing options outside the Kimberley, no serious attempt has been made by the proponent or EPA to conduct this assessment. Although the proponent lists a series of reports that discuss other options, such as piping the gas to existing facilities on the Burrup, or to Port Hedland, or using floating LNG, each of these reports was funded by the proponent using industry consultants and are clearly biased against non-Kimberley options. The only exception was the Commonwealth-funded GHD consultants report which concluded, “At first glance a significant number of sites along the Pilbara Coast present themselves as having some potential as sites for an LNG precinct. However, closer investigation reveals that extremely little on-the-ground information is available for these sites” (GHD 2009). Nothing was subsequently done by the proponent to change this situation.

Conflicted EPA Board makes mockery of process
The EPA Report is unreliable due to conflicts of interest on the EPA Board. At least 3 EPA Board members helped shape the way this project was assessed over the past several years – even though they were operating under known conflicts of interest. When the conflicted members were finally removed from the process, there was only one of the five EPA Board members left to make the decision, even though a legal quorum for the EPA Board is three members.

Environmental/Social Issues:
EPA failure to acknowledge global significance of Kimberley marine/coastal environment
Like the proponent of the gas hub, the EPA has utterly failed to acknowledge the global environmental significance of the Kimberley marine and coastal environment. This is despite studies referred to the EPA showing the region to be one of the most intact, healthy and rich marine systems left on the planet (see for example, Halpern B.S. et al, “A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems”, 2008).

Impact of water use; EPA fails to assess
If the gas refineries are approved they would suck up to 8GL/year (8 billion litres/yr) of water out of local aquifers. The government has done no studies to determine the amount of water in the aquifers and the reliance of ecosystems (e.g. monsoon vine thickets) on those aquifers. The EPA has no idea what will happen if 8GL/year is pulled for the aquifer. The EPA has fundamentally failed to assess this crucial ‘strategic’ factor.
“There is limited information on groundwater presented in the SAR as no dedicated studies had been undertaken at the time the SAR was released because access had not been gained for the drilling of test bores.” (EPA p. 122)

Monsoon Vine Thickets (MVT); EPA’s conclusions about impacts not supported by evidence
Despite acknowledging the significance of the James Price Point MVT, the EPA recommends 23% of this unique remnant rainforest patch be destroyed. No substantive work has been undertaken to assess the local impacts of clearing such a large area of this unique ecosystem at JPP or the wider impacts on the connected network of MVT’s along the Dampier Peninsula. The potential negative social impacts on Indigenous people through impacts to MVT’s have not been examined at all. The EPA report has failed to comprehend that there is no way to “cap” the loss of MVT, as it has attempted to do, because there is no way of knowing how much will be lost once the proponent starts drawing up to 8Gl/year of water from aquifers.

“Surface and groundwater flows that originate, at least in part, from the Precinct site are thus likely to be important to the maintenance of the Monsoon Vine Thicket that occurs within and south of the Precinct and to the drainage basin vegetation community. The SAR notes that the sensitivity of the groundwater regime of the superficial and Broome sandstone aquifers is unknown, but is likely to be high (DSD, 2010a).” (EPA p. 123)Birds; EPA fails to assess.

The EPA Report fails to mention birds at all. The threatened Gouldian Finch has been located in other parts of the Dampier Peninsula and is known to utilise Monsoon Vine Thickets. The EPA has failed to address this issue.

Dugongs; EPA’s conclusions about impacts not supported by the evidence
The EPA’s Report states that the permanent loss of seagrass habitat – essential for the local dugong population – will be 260 hectares while a far larger area is likely to be lost for up to five years. The EPA Report accepts DSD’s groundless assertions that such loss and disturbance will not have a significant impact on dugong populations, falsely assuming that dugongs will move elsewhere after the loss of this food resource. Evidence from other parts of Australia indicates that dugongs may simply die.

Humpback Whales; EPA’s conclusions about impacts not supported by the evidence
The Dampier Peninsula coast is the southern section of the world’s largest humpback whale nursery. Current research is showing that James Price Point is a significant area for whale calves. They are giving birth in the safety of this coast and then teaching their newborn to swim. Baby whales are unable to hold their breath for long or swim fast to avoid ship strike. The EPA Report fails to acknowledge or assess the impact that 1300 super-tankers per year (2600 movements), will have passing through whale migratory routes and nursery grounds. The latest land-based whale research conducted by the community suggests that the construction of the Port precinct will have a huge impact on whale nursery habitat, and neither the EPA, Woodside nor DSD are planning to put in place scientifically supported mitigation measures during humpback whale calving season. Also, the 34 million tonnes of dredge spoil from port construction is planned to be dumped on the whale migration path where Woodside claims 95% of whales are found (i.e. more than 6 km off James Price Point).

Dolphins; EPA has made assumptions which are not based on evidence
The EPA Report has failed to acknowledge that there are at least 4 species of dolphin utilising the Dampier Peninsula coast about which little is known. One of these dolphins is the Dwarf Spinner Dolphin which is otherwise unknown outside the Gulf of Thailand. Another is the rare and barely-studied Snubfin dolphin. All of these dolphins inhabit coastal waters and scientists acknowledge that the greatest pressure the dolphins face is coastal development. See Murdoch University’s reports on dolphins, whales and dugongs. As so little is known about the behaviour and distribution of these dolphins, it is not possible for the EPA to reach any conclusions about the impact which this proposal might have on dolphins.

Turtles; EPA misunderstands the science and threat
The EPA Report has failed to understand that turtles from Barrow Island feed at Quondong Point. The Quondong Point feeding grounds will be lost to dredging. The EPA Report has failed to consider the cumulative impacts on turtles. Turtles are under pressure from the Gorgon gas hub at their Barrow Island breeding grounds. The turtles will lose their Quondong feeding grounds to the James Price Point gas hub. The breeding ground at the Lacepedes will also be under pressure if there is an adverse incident at James Price Point. As all WA’s turtle species are endangered or vulnerable, the EPA Report fails to properly address the serious and potentially devastating impacts that the JPP gas hub will have on these turtle populations.

Sawfish; EPA fundamentally misunderstands ecology and makes erroneous assumptions
The EPA Report has failed to understand that endangered freshwater, dwarf and green sawfish are present along the Dampier Peninsula coast because this is a migratory pathway. The effect of putting an industrial precinct right in the middle of their inshore migratory pathway could have catastrophic consequences for these species which are highly sensitive to environmental pressures. Their populations have collapsed in other parts of Northern Australia and they are virtually extinct in South East Asia. With a 3-6 km breakwater extending from the lowest Astronomical tide, sawfish would have to travel near to Commonwealth waters to by-pass the gas precinct.

 Dinosaur trackways; EPA’s recommendations not feasible – tracks and Songline will be broken
The EPA has made a token attempt to protect the dinosaur trackways by recommending that the proponent avoid a small area just south of James Price Point. This recommendation will in fact do absolutely nothing to protect this National Heritage area as there are dinosaur trackways all along that coast and the EPA’s recommendation will assure the destruction of many of them either directly or through ‘incidental’ project-related damage and degradation. The Traditional Owner’s famous Lurujarri heritage trail and songline will be broken forever if this project goes ahead.

 Carbon emissions; EPA has failed to discharge its responsibility

This proposal, if approved and built to its full extent, would be responsible for a staggering 52% increase in WA’s greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA has recommended that the proponent try to keep carbon emissions to 0.26 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of LNG produced. This recommendation is next to impossible for the proponent to achieve as the Browse basin gas is known to be very CO2 intensive. The actual emissions are likely to be double the EPA’s ‘target’ - 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of LNG. The EPA has paid lip service to reducing carbon emissions – but has done nothing to ensure that this will actually happen.

The EPA has not set any ‘offset’ conditions for James Price Point because it did not want to impose any further imposts as the proponent will now be paying a carbon tax. This is a poor decision by the EPA because the carbon price of $23/tonne may be too low to effectively reduce emissions for this project and because the carbon tax may be repealed. The EPA’s stance on the issue of carbon emissions means that the EPA has failed to discharge its responsibilities in relation to carbon emissions.
 Bilby population; EPA has failed to comprehend their significance

The EPA Report erroneously assumes that bilbies can simply find other habitat elsewhere. Bilby populations have collapsed over the past 30 years, but community surveys found Bilbies at JPP. The EPA has no basis for assuming that an important population of a vulnerable species can simply find somewhere else to live, or that loss of the James Price Point population will have no broader implications.

 Dredging; EPA has failed to assess the social impacts of a degraded Cable Beach
The EPA Report has, for the first time, admitted that dredging could impact Broome’s prime tourist attraction: Cable Beach. The EPA has failed to conduct any kind of assessment on what a degraded Cable Beach will do to Broome’s tourism industry or to the recreational amenities of the people who live in Broome. With over 34 million cubic metres of dredging to be done over the first 21 months, this will impact all coastal marine life along the Dampier Peninsular.

 EPA conditions – changed to suit proponents
The EPA does not have the resources or the Ministerial backing required to monitor and enforce compliance with the 29+ “strict” conditions it is proposing for the gas hub. Given the scale of this project and the fact it is backed by the government and would be operated by several of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world, the public can have no confidence that the conditions will be ‘strictly’ implemented. Furthermore, the EPA has a record of changing conditions after they have been set, as a result of political lobbying and pressure by project proponents, e.g. Perth Hills quarry.

CONCLUSION The Environment Appeals Convenor must recommend that the Environment Minister reject the EPA’s report and recommendations as not based on science or the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the assessment process itself as a breach of the Environment Protection Act and Strategic Assessment Agreement.

Kimberley Page :: News and Information from Western Australia's Kimberley Region, Kunnunurra news, Fitzroy Crossing News, Broome News, Derby News, Halls Creek News

Kimberley Page :: News and Information from Western Australia's Kimberley Region, Kunnunurra news, Fitzroy Crossing News, Broome News, Derby News, Halls Creek News:

 PM Gillard: “Our environmental assessments, whether its James Prime Point or anywhere else, are done on strict scientific and environmental grounds,” she said. “It’s not about who’s on which ship or who’s holding up which placard; it is about the science and the environment and what is best for our environment, so that is what the Minister will take into account.”

Chaney lashes out at 'anarchist' Cousins | The Australian

Chaney lashes out at 'anarchist' Cousins | The Australian:

WOODSIDE Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney has lashed out at opponents of the planned $35 billion Browse liquefied natural gas plant in Western Australia's Kimberley, labelling Telstra director Geoffrey Cousins and other activists as "anarchists" who did not respect the legal process.

In his strongest attack yet on the campaign to foil the project, Mr Chaney said Woodside and its Browse partners were following all the correct procedures and the development would be approved next year if it was viable and met all environmental requirements.


"The protesters are really a handful of people who I think are anarchistic in their approach -- that is, they don't accept the decision of the umpire and they go their own way and try to stop projects," he told Sky Business last night.

Future of Kimberley gas hub down to economics - Business - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Future of Kimberley gas hub down to economics - Business - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

The anti gas hub movement is gathering momentum most recently gaining the support of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and high profile businessman Geoffrey Cousins.

EPA Report, a unscrupulous process with predetermined caustic outcomes for James Price Point.

Here is the shameful EPA gas hub report:

http://edit.epa.wa.gov.au/EPADocLib/Rep%201444%20Browse%20LNG%20Precinct%20SEA%20160712-web.pdf

Appeals are now open until Monday 30 July.

Everyone can & should and can make an appeal. Include a request that the Appeals  Convenor travel to Broome to take submissions.

Sea Shepherd come to James Price Point

Published on Jul 17, 2012 by seashepherd


Sea Shepherd Australia Director Jeff Hansen and former Greens Senator Bob Brown share their thoughts on Operation Kimberley Miinimbi. Video by Fair Projects

Former Howard adviser slams gas hub plans in the Kimberley - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Former Howard adviser slams gas hub plans in the Kimberley - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

Former adviser to the Howard government, Geoff Cousins, on why he is opposed to Woodside Petroleum's plan to develop a gas hub in the Kimberley.

Woodside Sucks Broome Dry of all its water

James Price Point was not EPA's first preference for gas hub location - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

James Price Point was not EPA's first preference for gas hub location - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

Palaeontologist Steve Salisbury at James Price Point 2011

In determining the EPA position, Mr Vogel considered research by numerous experts in the surrounding area of the Kimberley. One of those, Palaeontologist Steve Salisbury had been investigating the discovery of dinosaur footprints in areas including James Price Point.

When the pair met last year, Mr Salisbury claims they had a discussion related to the protection of the sites estimated to be up to 130 million years old.

He told George Manning on Kimberley Mornings, Mr Vogel indicated at that time that had the EPA known of such sites in 2008, then they would have picked a different site.

Possibly nearby Gordon Bay, where the EPA had determined that less environmental impact was likely. Mr Salisbury expressing his surprise at yesterday's recommendation.

Gas hub decision not swayed by politics: Gillard - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Gas hub decision not swayed by politics: Gillard - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

"Our environmental assessments, whether its James Prime Point or anywhere else, are done on strict scientific and environmental grounds," she said.

"It's not about who's on which ship or who's holding up which placard; it is about the science and the environment and what is best for our environment, so that is what the Minister will take into account."

Damage to dinosaur tracks 'inevitable' - The West Australian

Damage to dinosaur tracks 'inevitable' - The West Australian:

"Overall, they recognised it as we have - that the area has got a lot of dinosaur footprints in it of national and international significance … thankfully, that's been acknowledged by the EPA, but they're still ploughing ahead with putting a gas precinct right alongside it and that's a worry," he said.

"You're going to have what is one of Australia's most significant dinosaur tracksites right up against a huge LNG processing plant."

"At the moment, that area is essentially untouched, an amazing place to go and experience these dinosaur tracks - when you put a gas hub alongside it, that's going to change everything … no-one is going to be nearly as excited."



    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-17/dinosaur-footprints-could-still-be-found-at-gas-hub/4136494?section=wa

Steve Irwin vessel in gas hub protes t - The West Australian

Steve Irwin vessel in gas hub protest - 
The West Australian:

“If the Australian federal government Ministers cannot protect the whales in the Australian Antarctic Whale Sanctuary, then the very least they can do is protect them right off our coast where they are born,” Mr Hansen said.

The Steve Irwin will leave Melbourne for Broome on Friday to highlight the plight of the whales. It is expected to arrive in Broome on August 4.

this photo was taken yesterday off James Price Point where Woodside are currently undertaking "INVESTIGATION WORKS within the intertidal National Heritage listed zone

 Go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=416589228366175&set=a.416589221699509.102678.414926075199157&type=3&theater
for updates and daily information on community whale research currently undertaking work at:

Sea Shepherd to take on Woodside
Sydney Morning Herald -
Sea Shepherd conservationists are to mount an Australian mainland campaign for the first time, against the $35 billion Browse gas hub project. The activists will this week set off in their flagship, Steve Irwin, to draw attention to potential impacts ...

Brown to join Sea Shepherd in anti-gas campaign near Broome
Herald Sun -
FORMER Greens leader Bob Brown has traded in his political hat for a pair of sea legs by joining the crew of the Sea Shepherd for an anti-gas hub campaign. The former federal leader of the Greens will board the environmental group's ...

Brown backs Sea Shepherd WA campaign
Herald Sun - ‎
FORMER Greens senator Bob Brown has traded in his political hat for a pair of sea legs by joining the crew of the Sea Shepherd for an anti-gas hub campaign. The former federal leader of the Greens will board one of the environmental group's ships as it ...

Sea Shepherd launches campaign to save whales

ABC Online - ‎The environmental group Sea Shepherd is launching a campaign to protect whales in Western Australia's Kimberley from a proposed gas hub near Broome. WA's environmental watchdog has recommended the $30-billion Browse LNG project be given approval.
Bob Brown to board Sea Shepherd for gas hub campaign

Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Former Greens leader Bob Brown is joining the Sea Shepherd environmental action group in a campaign against the $35 billion Browse gas hub project near Broome in Western Australia. The activist ship will leave Melbourne this week for the Kimberley ...
Steve Irwin vessel in has hub protest

The West Australian - ‎
Sea Shepherd's flagship vessel Steve Irwin is heading to Broome to campaign against the $35 million Browse gas hub at James Price Point. The conservation organisation said direct action was planned to save a whale nursery off the Kimberley coast ...

AM - EPA approves gas hub for the Kimberley 17/07/2012

AM - EPA approves gas hub for the Kimberley 17/07/2012

Woodside has welcomed environmental approval for a massive gas hub in The Kimberley region. Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority has said the 40-billion-dollar gas hub north of Broome can go ahead, but the process has proved controversial and environmentalists are flagging a legal challenge.

But Peter Robertson, the Wilderness Society's coordinator in Western Australia, says the decision can and may be challenged in court.

"This judgement seems to indicate that it is not appropriate for the remaining people on that committee, who were not conflicted, to actually make a decision based on a process that has involved people that were conflicted," he said.

"So that would be the matter that we would, you know, seek further advice on and potentially go to court over.

"If our subsequent advice from a barrister is that this is an arguable case and has the potential to win then we will definitely take this further because we believe the reputation of the EPA and its standing in the community is at risk here."

Sea Shepherd to take on Woodside at James Price Point

Sea Shepherd to take on Woodside:

A group of Aboriginal leaders of the Golarabooloo people told Sea Shepherd in a letter: "We have seen the work you have done to protect the whales in the Southern Ocean.

"We would appreciate any support you can give us to protect the humpback in our Sea Country from the proposal to build an industrial port at James Price Point for LNG export."

The activists' leader, Paul Watson, replied that the project was disrespectful to the area's original people and marine species.

"There are sacred places in this world that should not be scarred with the ugliness of greed and disrespect for nature," Mr Watson said.

Sea Shepherd Launch Kimberly whale campaign - SSCS - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - IWPO Forum

Sea Shepherd Launch Kimberly whale campaign - SSCS - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - IWPO Forum:

Go to the following link for daily updates and mappings
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=463163500375414&set=a.424822444209520.103711.414926075199157&type=1&theater

If the Australian federal government Ministers cannot protect the whales in the Australian Antarctic Whale Sanctuary, then the very least they can do is protect them right off our coast where they are born. They can do this by sending a clear message to the Australian public that they do not support this.

It has taken over three decades for the Western Australian humpback population to bounce back from the brink of extinction, from the barbaric slaughter they endured from whaling. The last thing our Aussie humpbacks need now is gas factories and a giant industrial port in their breeding grounds.

Having massive gas export facilities at James Price Point would be like trying to have and nurture a baby right next to the noise of an airport, while having trucks going right through your house. The peace and tranquility of the humpbacks world would be shattered.

Sea Shepherd supporters, if you stand by us in defending the humpbacks in their Antarctic summer feeding grounds, then please stand by us in defence of their birthing grounds.

Crimes against the James Price Point continue

                                                                             Media Release

EPA recommendations rejected by Broome community
16 July 2012

* EPA's recommends construction of gas hub at James Price Point
* The decision, the largest in their history, was made without a quorum
* Broome community rejects process and questions lack of scientific rigor

The Broome Community No Gas campaign today slammed the Environment Protection Authorities report recommending approval for the LNG gas precinct at James Price Point.

The EPA report, released earlier today, recommends that Woodside's $45 billion project is approved at the James Price Point location.

The Broome Community No Gas Campaign says that the State government is so determined to see this project go ahead that they are misusing the EPA process by allowing one person to make a decision about this project instead of the 3 people required by law.

"This decision is not an EPA decision, it's the personal opinion of one person" said Nik Wevers of the Broome Community No Gas Campaign "The Broome community has no faith in the veracity of this report. The EPA’s own rules state that 3 board members are required for a quorum, and this is the largest decision in their history, yet it has been made by just one man"

Two weeks ago it was revealed that four out of the five members on the EPA board had a conflict of interest, leaving only one board member to make a decision about the project.

"By allowing the EPA report to hinge on the opinion of one person not only shows the a complete lack transparency and integrity in the decision making process, but also the desperation of the State Government to force this project on the Broome community irrespective of the fact that the proper process has not been followed”

The group called into question the science behind the EPA assessment. "Given that this report hinges on science you would expect to see a rigorous peer review process yet the EPA has failed to put any such process in place, instead the EPA are accepting the non peer reviewed science of the Woodside funded research"

For further comment from the Broome Community No Gas campaign, please contact Nik Wevers on             0417 998 598     


Kimberley gas hub gets nod from EPA
Herald Sun
THE controversial Kimberley gas hub has been given a "strict conditional" go-ahead from Western Australia's environmental watchdog.

Woodside gas hub condition 'unworkable'
Ninemsn
Dinosaur footprints run the entire length of the Dampier Peninsula so Woodside's Browse gas hub won't be able to avoid them, the WA Greens say. ... The state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on Monday recommended that WA environment minister ...

EPA ticks Woodside's James Price Point LNG hub
The Australian
Dr Vogel announced that he alone had made the decision to recommend conditional approval for the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas precinct in the Kimberley, the largest and most complex in the 40-year history of the EPA. He did so after four board members ...

Browse project gets environmental green light
Sydney Morning Herald

The Environmental Protection Authority has recommended a $35 billion gas hub in the Kimberley be approved with strict conditions. The Browse liquified natural gas project at James Price Point, near Broome, should go ahead with 29 conditions and offsets ...

The EPA has released its recommendation on the proposed Browse LNG development at James Price Point.

The EPA's recommendation is open for appeal for just 14 days. You may wish to lodge your own appeal on a few of the issues which you consider have not been adequately addressed. Anyone can lodge an appeal.

You can see the EPA's recommendation here:

http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/EIA/EPAReports/Pages/default.aspx?cat=Appeal%20on%20EPA%20Report%20and%20Recommendations&url=EIA/EPAReports

This extraordinarily complex decision has been made by just one man. And almost none of the information supporting the decision has been peer reviewed.

It is very easy to lodge an appeal. The appeal must:

    be in writing;
    clearly identify the matter or decision being appealed;
    accompanied by a cheque for $10 made out to the "Appeals Convenor"
    be signed by the appellant;    be lodged within 14 days be sent to the  Minister for the Environment c/- Office of the Appeals Convenor
    Level 22 Forrest Centre
    221 St George's Terrace
    PERTH WA 6000
    Tel:             (08) 6467 5190     
    Fax: (08) 6467 5199
    Email: admin@appealsconvenor.wa.gov.au;

The Appeals Convenor is likely to consult with all of the appellants during the course of the appeal and may provide the appellants with an opportunity to adduce evidence at a joint meeting.

Just go to: http://portal.appealsconvenor.wa.gov.au/portal/page?_pageid=1258,5507317&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL for more information and to download the appeal form.

The appeals process is an important opportunity for your voice to be heard.

You may also wish to have a look at the EPA's media statement

http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/News/mediaStmnts/Pages/JamesPricePointLNGprecinctrecommendedforapproval.aspx?pageID=312&url=News/mediaStmnts