Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
Peter Robertson
Wilderness Society activist Peter Robertson said he welcomed the Prime Minister weighing into the gas hub debate.
His comments come after Julia Gillard said the proposed Kimberley gas hub would be subject to an environmental assessment on ?strict scientific and environmental grounds?>
You can read his statement here:
MEDIA RELEASE
18 July 2012
Prime Minister?s and Environment Minister?s commitments to ?strict? gas hub assessment welcomed after WA EPA fiasco
The Wilderness Society has welcomed comments today by both PM Gillard and Environment Minister Burke re-committing the Commonwealth to a rigorous assessment of the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed gas hub at James Price Point.
In separate statements the two key Federal decision makers state that the assessment must meet the standards set out in the 2008 Browse LNG Strategic Assessment Agreement and the Commonwealth decision will be based on strict scientific and environmental grounds.
Wilderness Society spokesperson Peter Robertson said the recent fiasco in WA where the ?EPA?s recommendation? was merely the opinion of the sole surviving member of the Board must be corrected by the Commonwealth.
?The WA side of the assessment has descended into farce and the Commonwealth has no alternative other than to reject its findings and carry out the rigorous environmental (and social and cultural heritage) investigations the EPA was unable or unwilling to undertake.
?For many months environment groups, community volunteers and independent scientists have highlighted and exposed the glaring inadequacies of the scientific studies and other information presented to the EPA by the project proponents ? the WA Department of State Development (DSD) and Woodside.
?In light of the identified inadequacies, the EPA ought to have insisted on peer review of the proponent?s ?science? but, other than in the case of dinosaur footprints, chose not to do so. This is despite the proponent originally committing to comprehensive peer review.
?The assessment process has also contravened the original agreement by, for example, not properly considering gas processing options outside the Kimberley.
?Only yesterday the public learned via EPA Chair Dr Paul Vogel that the EPA originally preferred, on environmental grounds, another site south of Broome for the gas hub, but then dismissed this option on the basis of untested feedback from the government.
?We will now be working intensively with the Commonwealth to ensure that all the deficiencies in the WA side of the assessment are identified and corrected, and that options for processing Browse gas at ?brownfields? sites outside the Kimberley, as preferred by several project partners, are put back ?front and centre? where they belong.
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.?
Hon. Tony Burke:
?At that point, I will firstly verify that they have met the requirements of the strategic assessment and then I will consider the proposal under national environmental law,? he said. He said the site?s heritage values must be considered under the terms of reference for the joint Federal-State strategic assessment ? a process which was rigorous and would include the opportunity for public comment.
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Source: http://www.kimberleypage.com.au/2012/07/opinion-peter-robertson-on-the-gas-hub/
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