18th July, 2012

Environmental Protection Authority gives the nod for the $30 billion gas hub at James Price Point!

Despite the fact that under Section 11 of the Environmental Protection Act, the Independent Board is required to have a quorum of at least three in order to make a decision. The decision was left to one man, the chairman, Dr Vogel. He has laid down a rigorous set of 29 conditions and offsets for the gas hub, with strict boundaries for seabed dredging which could have a huge impact on the iconic Cable Beach. Dredging done in Gladstone, Queensland (next to the Great Barrier Reef) has had horrific effects on marine life.

Woodside plans to build a 6km long breakwater and will export the rock needed from existing infrastructure in the Pilbara. Analysis by economic analysts JP Morgan and Citigroup has shown that the main advantage of going to JPP versus existing facilities in the Pilbara is that gas processing could start 3 years quicker – but delays are already whittling away at this timeframe.

Woodside Chief Executive Peter Coleman reaffirmed that Woodside remained on track to make a final investment decision on Browse LNG project in the first half of 2013, stating that the Browse Project would have the capacity to produce 12 million tonnes of LNG each year which will be shipped directly to China and Japan but failed to state that under our current government when tax payers are being required to pay carbon tax, this gas hub will generate 39 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.

Public appeal on the EPA report is available for the next two weeks.

Saturday 23rd June – Last Man Standing! Chairman, Paul Vogel, of the Environmental Protection Authority is to be the sole contributor to the EPA “Strategic Assessment”, due to be released next week, on the controversial proposed LNG Gas Processing Hub at James Price Point, after 4 out of the 5 members of the EPA have been suspended, over conflicts of interest.

The Wilderness Society’s, Peter Robertson says, “the situation had been kept secret by the Minister and Government who obviously did not want any more problems for the trouble plagued project. The public has been hoodwinked into thinking that a proper and rigorous environmental decision making process has been applied to the proposal, but in fact it has been left to just one person, the EPA Chair, to make the decision on whether or not to recommend approval. It just makes a mockery of the idea of having a board and EPA at all!