Murray Watt lands in WA with a difficult decision to make on Woodside’s gas operations

Newly installed federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is in WA sounding out two big issues facing federal Labor — the potential extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf, and an overhaul of federal environment laws. 

His big task, though, is to avoid creating a third headache: an upset WA Premier Roger Cook, a man used to getting his way. 

Mr Watt made his way west, a week after being sworn in, to meet with the premier, along with several other state Labor ministers including Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti and Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn, hoping to iron out some key issues.

The main one being the decision on whether to grant an extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project, which has fallen into Mr Watt’s lap after a decision on it was delayed twice by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek before the election.

“[I’m meeting with] quite a bunch of ministers because there’s a lot of ministers that have got an interest in the issues within my portfolio,” Mr Watt told reporters walking into the WA parliament on Tuesday.

There’s interest alright, not only regarding the decision on Woodside, given its looming May 31 deadline, but also the future of the Albanese government’s nature positive legislation.

Both issues are now in Mr Watt’s hands whether he likes it or not — and players on all sides are watching very closely.

Decision pending

Mr Watt was tight-lipped about his back-to-back meetings with several WA ministers but indicated it was his intention to make a “proposed decision” on the extension “in coming days” before the May 31 deadline.

“There’s been an enormous amount of work done by my department over the last few months,” he said.

His visit follows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s flying visit to Perth last week en route to Indonesia.

Mr Albanese was also tight-lipped on the decision.

Woodside’s proposal to extend the life of its gas facility in Karratha from 2030 to 2070 has been under assessment for six years, but got the green light in December by then-state environment minister Reece Whitby.

It might have state approval, but the project needs the federal tick too — something many, including Mr Cook, are waiting for with bated breath.

He said he wanted the decision made “as soon as possible” — and again threw his support behind the extension.

“If we can maintain the Karratha gas plant as an important tolling facility for gas resources … that’s a much better way to go than shutting it down now and seeing other developments, other projects have to develop the same sort of infrastructure to make sure that we can enjoy the benefits of that gas,” he said.

‘Haunt us forever’

Several groups, some with and some without scheduled meetings with Mr Watt this week, indicated they would continue to highlight concerns about the project’s extension.

Australian Marine Conservation Society CEO Paul Gamblin said the decision puts coral reefs as well as cultural heritage at risk along WA’s coastline.

“Minister Watt has the opportunity to prevent a decision that will haunt us forever,” he said. 

“Our children won’t be able to understand a decision to extend the North West Shelf for another half century creating enormous carbon pollution.

“If this project is extended … underwater bushfires are going to become raging infernos.”

Australian Conservation Foundation climate campaigner Piper Rollins said the organisation had secured a meeting with Mr Watt “sometime during the week”.

“The Australian Conservation Foundation is looking forward to working constructively with minister Watt, we’ve had early conversations with him and we look forward to working with him on nature reform laws and on the North West Shelf approval moving forward,” she said.

WA Greens MLC-elect Sophie McNeill said minister Watt should visit Murujuga in WA’s Pilbara region like she was this week, given the debate about whether the project was damaging the ancient rock art, before making a final decision.

“We think that he needs to go to Murujuga, see what’s at stake before he makes his decision because this is on him. If he approves this project, the destruction of that ancient rock art is on him,” she said.

Woodside has maintained without the gas an extension would provide, WA’s plans to get out of coal-fired power by 2030 would be under threat — and jobs would be put on the line.

“It is a very clear proof that if we do not get approval to continue producing gas into the market, we will burn coal longer right here in Western Australia,” Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said earlier this month.

Discussion ‘couldn’t have gone better’

The environment minister has a full calendar for his two-day visit, not only for minister catch-ups, but for meetings with a “broad range” of groups including industry, conservation, mining and first nations groups, as well as hoping to restart  ‘Nature Positive’ talks for the government’s re-write of environmental conservation reforms.

The government wants to modernise the 25-year-old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, which governs environmental approvals including for mining, forestry and energy projects, but shelved its plans before the election after resistance, mainly from Mr Cook.

“I’ve stood up to the Commonwealth government in the past, and I’ll do it in the future if it’s in the interests of Western Australia and I’ll always stand up for WA,” Mr Cook said.

Mr Watt has the task of smoothing things over with a head-strong premier — something he’s confident he can do.

“Being a Queenslander I understand the strong way in which Western Australians put their views forward, we do the same in Queensland as well,” he said.

“The discussion with Premier Cook couldn’t have gone better, there’s a lot of desire with him to work closely together to tackle these reforms because he, like me, wants to make sure that [the] environmental laws at the federal level that protect the environment but also work for business.”

Time will tell whether he can do just that as he faces his first test in the west.

Loading