Cousins adds voice to gas hub opposition

Environmentalists and others opponents of Woodside’s proposed Browse liquefied natural gas project near Broome have been spurred to action on a variety of fronts following the State Environmental Protection Authority’s recommended conditional approval last Monday.

Prominent environmentalist and former adviser to ex-prime minister John Howard, Geoffrey Cousins, weighed in to the debate in an article in not-for-profit independent news outlet the Global Mail. He argued during interviews there were viable processing alternatives, such as ones in the Pilbara, for the gas extracted from the Browse.

Sea Shepherd Australia flagship vessel Steve Irwin set out for Broome as part of a campaign to save a whale nursery off the coast, with former head of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, aboard and intending to take political and business leaders out to the area.

On Saturday Goolarabooloo traditional custodian Richard Hunter, who recently challenged Woodside in court, led a delegation through a dune walk at James Price Point – Walmadany – as the campaign “prepared to defend the area against Woodside drilling”.

Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, who arrived in Broome with WA Greens Senator Scott Ludlam on Thursday, said she believed there were “holes in the (EPA) assessment you could drive a truck through”.

“The sham of a process has produced a sham of a result,” she said. “There is a reason you have five members on the EPA and that is for the diversity of views and expertise.”

The senator called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was also visiting the Kimberley last week, to visit Price’s Point.

“Opinion polls showed that 60 percent of Australians don’t want the gas hub to go ahead at James Price Point – and showed that … only 10 per cent, don’t know about the gas hub,” Ms Siewert said.

Ms Gillard said she would not comment on the matter. The Prime Minister said the environmental assessment would be done on strict scientific and environmental grounds and was “about the science and what is best for the environment”.

Ms Gillard said the Federal Government would become involved once the State Government completed its strategic assessment and that would be a fair way off.

EPA chairman Paul Vogel released 29 conditions for an approval, including protection of whales and other marine life from possible oil spills or dredging spoil, and special pipeline-tunnelling techniques to minimise coastal erosion.