As the deadline looms on Woodside's major WA gas project, what's at stake for Labor?

Australia Broadcast Center

10-05-2025

While the Liberals' demolition at the recent WA and federal elections has dominated the headlines, another issue is bubbling away in the background — and it's all about gas.
The climate debate was animated by more than a dozen disruptions at energy giant Woodside's annual general meeting (AGM) in Perth on Thursday.
It's nothing new, but coming off WA Premier Roger Cook watering down his party's promise to introduce climate target legislation, the pressure being placed on Labor is mounting.
Woodside's AGM has become a colourful affair in recent years with protesters using it to highlight climate concerns — both in and out of the room.
This year, climate activists greeted attendees at the main entrance with 'stop new gas' signs and an imposing puppet representing the premier as 'Roger the cook, frying our planet'.
Inside, CEO Meg O'Neill's speech was interrupted repeatedly by protesters blowing whistles before being escorted out.
There was also shareholder backlash, with 20 per cent voting against the re-appointment of the company's sustainability chair Ann Pickard.
Among them, Norwegian asset manager Storebrand, which voted no because "the company is not aligned with our expectations on net zero by 2050 targets and commitments".
"Investors are continuing to escalate against Woodside's board for its persistent failure to manage climate risk," Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility said after the meeting.
"It's the second worst vote on Woodside's record for any director … so we think that continues the pattern of escalation from investors.
Prominent epidemiologist Fiona Stanley echoed those concerns.
"The science has been clear for years that global warming impacting health, wellbeing and the economy is caused by burning fossil fuels," the former Australian of the Year told the AGM.
Despite its opponents, the company has some significant supporters.
Woodside's strategy that "gas is a natural partner for renewables through the transition", as CEO Meg O'Neill explained it, mirrors the stance of both the state and federal governments.
"Both Labor and the Coalition recognise that gas is an important part of Australia's energy transition," she told media after the event.
"What we would like to see is real action to allow delivery of that strategy."
Given both state and federal Labor won overwhelming majorities with gas a priority in their policies, there could be cause for optimism among the company's ranks.
The headache for Labor though is that its support for gas is not universally welcomed.
While keeping the gas industry on side is no doubt politically expedient, it comes at a cost.
Just 18 kilometres away from Woodside's headquarters, Labor has been given two stark warnings about the price it might have to pay.
At the state election, independent Kate Hulett came within 450 votes of unseating Labor Minister and MP Simone McGurk in the traditionally safe seat of Fremantle.
This week, Hulett's crack at the federal seat fell short by a slightly larger margin.
Hulett campaigned heavily on gas, saying the issue she would have been "raging about first", had she been elected, was Woodside's application to extend the life of its North West Shelf project in the Pilbara.
The company wants it to continue operating until 2070, but climate groups say the project will emit billions of tonnes of pollution over its lifetime and jeopardise global efforts to reach net zero.
As it stands, whoever is the next federal environment minister will have until the end of the month to decide on the application.
The WA government approved it last year with some conditions, including monitoring air quality and reviewing emissions reduction measures.
But Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter was hopeful of more from the Commonwealth.
He believed the election outcome was a "definitive statement by the Australian people for a future of cleaner renewable energy" given the Liberals' defeat.
Woodside is continuing to keep the pressure on for the project's approval, with O'Neill telling Thursday's meeting without the gas an extension would provide, WA's plans to get out of coal-fired power by 2030 would be under threat.
How the thorny North West Shelf project is handled by the Albanese government could give some insight into whether that's how it sees the result too.
Beyond how Labor's stance on gas plays out amongst its own base, there's also the issue of what it means for its relationship with the Greens.
In both state and federal parliaments, Labor does not need to rely on upper house crossbenches — support from either the Greens or Liberals will be enough to pass its legislation.
And there was already a clear sign the Greens' support will come at a cost.
Greens MLC-elect, Sophie McNeill, was among those trying to whistle-out O'Neill's speech.
It's similar federally.
Senator Dorinda Cox said yesterday the North West Shelf project would be a key bargaining chip for the party and that it "must not go ahead".
"We are not going to allow a carbon bomb to be let off here at the North West Shelf," she said outside Woodside's AGM.
The ultimate question, which can't be answered until the next election, is whether Labor needs to be willing to sacrifice more left-leaning electorates like Fremantle to keep the hold it has over traditional Liberal strongholds, particularly in WA.
Short of some spectacular political diffusing, Labor is left with the choice of releasing either a carbon or a political bomb.