Latest news with #Karratha
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
How Labor's North West Shelf approval further endangers Murujuga's 50,000-year-old rock art
On Thursday, the new environment minister, Murray Watt, approved an extension for the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The gas plant at Karratha, Western Australia, will run until 2070. This expansion – and the pollution it will release – has led to a recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites to defer Unesco's decision on the world heritage listing of the nearby Murujuga rock art. Two of the recommendations before renomination of the site are to 'ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions' and 'prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape'. Murujuga has more than 1 million petroglyphs, some up to 50,000 years old. It has the oldest depictions of the human face in the world and records the lore and traditions of Aboriginal Australians since the first human settlement of this continent. It is strikingly beautiful and is of enormous cultural and spiritual importance to the Traditional Owners. Despite the immense significance of the site, a large industrial precinct has been built at its centre. Last week, the Western Australian government released the long awaited Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program Year 2 report. This report examines the effect of industrial pollution upon one of the world's most significant rock art sites. We have conducted our own independent project into the impact of industrial emissions on Murujuga since 2018. Many of our findings support the details in this report but the government's report summary and subsequent political commentary downplays the ongoing impacts of acidic emissions from industry on the world unique rock art. The most significant findings are the weathering chamber results. These subjected all rock types from Murujuga to the air pollutants released by industry. The results showed that all were degraded, even with relatively low doses of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). The second highly significant finding is that 'there is statistically significant evidence of elevated porosity of granophyre rock surfaces'. This is centred on the industrial precinct in Murujuga. The report acknowledges industrial pollution is the most likely cause. This degradation and elevated porosity of the rocks puts the survival of the petroglyphs at risk. On our research team, Jolam Neumann's still to be published PhD thesis at the University of Bonn, Germany, considered the impacts of industrial pollution on Murujuga rocks. He used actual samples of gabbro and granophyre rock collected from Murujuga and simulated six years of weathering under current pollution conditions. He found elevated porosity in both rock surfaces. He also collected the residue to understand what was eroded from the rock and how. He found there was significant degradation of birnessite (manganese) and kaolinite (clay) from the surface. The dark red/brown surface of the rock became porous and started to break down. His work confirms industrial emissions are the cause of the elevated porosity in the report. His work shows the seriousness of the porosity: it is symptomatic of a process causing the rapid disintegration of the rock surface. With Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program report showing evidence of damage to the art from pollution, the state government chose to emphasise in their report summary that a defunct power plant from the 1970s and 1980s was likely the culprit. The report's data suggests this power plant produced about 3,600 tonnes of NO₂ per year and less than 400 tonnes of SO₂ per year. Current industry in the immediate area produces more than 13,000 tonnes of NO₂ per year and more than 6,500 tonnes of SO₂. If the old power plant damaged the art then contemporary industrial emissions will be damaging the rock art at least five times faster. Neumann also gained access to a piece of rock collected in 1994 by archaeological scientist Robert Bednarik, and stored in his office in Melbourne for the past 30 years. The area where this rock came from now has elevated porosity, but the Bendarik rock shows no signs of it. This means the bulk of the industrial damage is likely more recent than 1994 – and is ongoing. The rock art was formed by engraving into the outer thin red/brown/black surface of the rock, called rock varnish, exposing the blue-grey parent rock beneath. This rock varnish was made in a process that involved the actions of specialised microbes called cyanobacteria. They concentrate manganese and iron from the environment to form an outer sheath to protect themselves from the harsh desert environment. The rock varnish forms at an incredibly slow rate: 1 to 10 microns in 1,000 years (a human hair is about 100 microns). These organisms can only thrive when the rock surface acidity is near neutral (pH 6.5–7). Their manganese sheaths are crucial to the integrity of the rock varnish, it binds it together and holds it to the underlying rock. If you lose the manganese you lose the rock varnish and the rock art. Neumann found the proportion of manganese in the Bednarik rock sample was 18.4% by weight. In samples collected in the same area in 2021, the manganese content had fallen to 9.6%. The depth of the varnish was reduced and the varnish layer was full of holes where the manganese had been degraded. The damage by industry over the last 26 years was clearly visible. Increased porosity is reducing the density of the rock varnish layer and leading to its eventual degradation. There is also an absence of cyanobacteria close to the industrial sites, but not at more distant sites, suggesting industrial emissions are eliminating the varnish-forming microbes. Industrial pollution has degraded the rock art and will continue to do so until the industrial pollution levels at Murujuga are reduced to zero. There are two well-recognised ways to eliminate NO₂ emissions. One uses selective catalytic reduction to convert NO₂ to nitrogen and water. The second method is to replace all gas burning heat production processes with electricity. The use of such technologies should form part of the conditions to the ministerial approval of the North West Shelf extension. This article was originally published in the Conversation. Benjamin Smith is a professor of archaeology (world rock art) at the school of social sciences at the University of Western Australia. John Black is adjunct professor emeritus at the school of veterinary science at the University of Sydney
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Millionaire boss takes a swipe at young Aussies - as she exposes a major double standard
The boss of mining giant Woodside has slammed young Australians, claiming they are hypocrites because they oppose fossil fuel projects but embrace Shein and Temu. Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill said the retailers were wildly popular with Gen Z 'without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions' when she spoke at the Australian Energy Producers Conference in Brisbane this week. Woodside made headlines on Wednesday when it was given the green light by the federal government to keep operating until the 2070s a massive gas processing plant in the Karratha region of WA as part of its North West Shelf project. 'Most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on,' Ms O'Neill said. 'It's been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly amongst young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, fossil fuels bad, renewables good. 'They are happily plugging in their devices and ordering things from Shein and Temu having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions. 'So that human impact and the consumer's role in driving energy demand and emissions absolutely is a missing space in the conversation.' Ms O'Neill earned $7.45 million in reported pay in 2023 as the CEO of Woodside. New Greens leader Larissa Waters said it was 'laughable' the CEO of a fossil fuel company was pointing the finger at young people over global warming. 'To claim with a straight face that the climate crisis is the fault of young people shopping online for goods they can afford in a cost-of-living crisis - you can't be the head of a massive dirty gas company and point the finger at other people about the climate crisis,' Waters told ABC. 'We've seen this time and time again – when fossil fuel companies feel threatened, they try to shift the blame back onto the individual and distract us from the fact that they have the power to end the climate crisis.' Woodside's gas - most of which is exported overseas - produced 74m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2024, according to company documents. Shein - which was founded in China in 2008 and has grown to become the largest fashion retailer in the world - emitted 16.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2023 via manufacturing, online business and shipping, according to its sustainability report. Yale Climate Connections, associated with Yale University, noted this is on par with the annual emissions from four coal power plants. Fellow Chinese online retailer Temu doesn't publicly disclose its emissions output but is one of the major players in the fast fashion industry which is the second largest industrial polluter on the planet, contributing about 10 per cent of global emissions. Both companies use economies of scale and exploit the 'de minimise' tax loophole -where small shipments avoid tariffs - to send millions of packages to consumers across the globe each day at incredibly cheap prices. While Woodside scored a win with its lease extension in Karratha it still has to accept conditions around heritage and air quality at the project on WA's Burrup Peninsula, home to ancient rock art, before the approval is made official. But after years of delay, the decision by new environment minister and Queensland senator Murray Watt represents an endorsement of the sector by the Labor government. Ms O'Neill said the conversation in Australia had evolved to recognise the role of gas in smoothing out the energy transition. 'The renewables rollout is not going as fast as had initially been anticipated, and we need to make sure that we're tackling those cost-of-living pressures that were such an important issue at the most recent election,' she told reporters. 'Increased supply of natural gas is part of the solution to help bring those power prices down.' Saul Kavonic, an energy expert with advisory firm MST Marquee, said there was hope within the gas industry that the poor performance of the Greens in the election would allow the government to take a more investment-friendly approach. 'But the truth is, the industry is waiting to see if actions follow words,' Mr Kavonic told Sky News. 'Overall, the investment landscape in Australia is still seen as quite challenging, particularly compared to alternatives that investors can invest in, places like Texas and Louisiana in the United States.' Replacing former environment minister Tanya Plibersek, who was vulnerable to the Greens in her inner-city Sydney electorate, with Senator Watt had been a 'massive improvement for the approvals landscape'. Legal challenges could still jeopardise the project, which Woodside says contributes more than 2000 direct jobs and has paid more than $40 billion in taxes over the past four decades. Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper launched a last-minute legal bid to stop the project in the Federal Court, and indicated she would continue her fight following Senator Watt's decision. It came just hours after the United Nations said industrial development at Karratha threatened nearby Aboriginal rock art, likely sinking Australia's attempts to secure heritage listing for the carvings if the extension goes ahead. Ms O'Neill said Woodside had worked closely with traditional custodians for more than 40 years. 'Whilst we haven't always gotten it right, we have very strong working relationships now, and we support the World Heritage listing, and we believe industry and heritage can coexist,' she said. The existing gas fields that feed the plant will run out in the 2030s, so Woodside is hoping to tap into the nearby Browse Basin, which could provide Karratha with decades more gas through an undersea pipeline. Ms O'Neill said the North West Shelf extension would still be worth it without Browse, because it also processes gas from other shippers, but Browse would be particularly important for domestic energy security beyond the 2030s. 'So we will continue to work with the states, the EPA and the Commonwealth department of environment on those Browse approvals,' she said. But the massive gas field has also become a target for environmental activists, who claim it would produce 1.6 gigatons of carbon emissions over its 50 year project life. Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O'Shanassy vowed to keep fighting the proposal. 'ACF and many others will continue to vigorously oppose the expansion of the gas industry, including the exploitation of the Browse climate bomb gas field at Scott Reef,' she said. Independent MP Kate Chaney, who represents the WA seat of Curtin, said she had heard from her constituents on the Woodside project more than on any other issue. 'People are deeply concerned about the North West Shelf going ahead and gas expansion. It's overly simplistic to think Western Australia has one view,' she told ABC TV. 'There are people who work in the gas industry who recognise we need to have a transition, there's so much potential for WA through renewables and green industry, and we need to shift our focus to that.'
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
North West Coastal Highway's 'notorious' Roebourne to Karratha section claims another two lives
Police, road safety advocates and grieving family members are calling for a "notorious" stretch of highway in Western Australia's north-west to be upgraded. Two people were killed in a head-on collision outside Roebourne, 1,500 kilometres north-east of Perth, last Friday. The crash occurred on the North West Coastal Highway which links Geraldton to Port Hedland and is frequently used by tourists, truck drivers and mining companies. It comes two months after a pair of teenagers, 17 and 16, died in a crash while riding a motorbike on the same route. Karratha Police Senior Sergeant Uwais Cuff said the section between Roebourne and Karratha was particularly dangerous. "You get a lot of shift workers knocking off duty and that road becomes particular busy." Senior Sergeant Cuff said works to widen the road and turn it into a double-carriageway had improved safety in recent years. But road trains and seasonal influxes of grey nomad caravanners remained challenging. "We're throwing everything at it," he said. "[Officers] will be out in force with their radars monitoring speed and fatigue, any drug and alcohol driving as well." The 29-year-old driver of a Toyota Prado, Koda Tahi Tahi, and a 21-year-old man died at the scene of last Friday's crash. Police said they were continuing to investigate the incident. Four other female passengers in the Prado were injured, with a 19 and 24-year-old flown to Royal Perth Hospital in a critical condition. The daughters and niece of journalist and Roebourne resident Tangiora Hinaki were involved in the crash. The driver of the Prado was Ms Hinaki's niece and her daughter, Manawa, was a passenger. She is in hospital in a stable condition and is expected to recover from her injuries. Ms Hinaki described her niece as a "beautiful, community-driven, joyous young woman" who had been involved with the local school and church. She said her niece's death had a profound impact on the local community, her family and friends across Australia and overseas. "I feel grateful for my three daughters that are still here with us Earth-side, but it's still very bittersweet because our beloved Koda is not here with us," she said. "You want your children to outlive you." More than five roadside tributes are visible along the 30 kilometre stretch of the North West Coastal Highway between Karratha and Roebourne. The latest crash brings the number of road fatalities between Karratha and Roebourne to four in 2025 so far, compared with two for the entire of 2024. Truck driver Heather Jones told ABC Pilbara the stretch was "very notorious" amongst transport workers. Ms Jones, who sits on a national road safety committee, said driver education needed to be at the forefront of investment. "We don't train well in cars, motorbikes or trucks, so we need to lift the driver training," she said. "Yes, there's a cost to it in the beginning. But if we invested in the beginning we wouldn't have all the consequences and the trauma that that brings upon families. In a statement, WA Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said the commission was "saddened" to hear of the double fatality. Mr Warner said that since 2020 the WA government had invested nearly $1.3 billion towards targeted road safety programs including "record investments on upgrading and delivering new road infrastructure". The funding also included upgrades to more than 9,000km of regional roads. Main Roads WA has been contacted for comment.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Ancient rock art under threat as Australia gives ‘proposed' approval to gas plant extension
Etched onto rocks on a remote peninsula in Western Australia are millions of images drawn tens of thousands of years ago by the country's original inhabitants, including the earliest known depictions of the human face. This open-air display of some of humanity's oldest works is being slowly erased by industrial pollution from a nearby gas plant, according to scientific studies that have been swept up in an almighty clash of competing ambitions for the region's future. At the center of the dispute is whether oil and gas company Woodside should be allowed to operate its Karratha Gas Plant until 2070, and on Wednesday Environment Minister Murray Watt gave 'proposed' approval for the extension, with 'strict conditions' relating to air quality. Woodside has 10 days to respond before Watt makes a final decision, he said in a statement. Environment groups and climate campaigners were quick to condemn the decision, which they say will pave the way for dozens of gas wells off the coast of Western Australia that will generate billions of tons of carbon emissions and make a mockery of the government's promises to act on climate change. Opposition to the extension – known as the North West Shelf – has also emerged from Pacific nations, which are co-bidding with Australia to host the COP31 climate talks in 2026. In a statement issued Tuesday, Tuvalu's Climate Change Minister Maina Talia urged Canberra to reject the proposal. 'Pacific leaders have made it clear: there is no future for our nations if fossil fuel expansion continues,' he said. 'This goes beyond politics; it is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change.' The Karratha Gas Plant has kept the town of Karratha in work since it opened in the 1980s, but centuries earlier the region's original inhabitants told stories through images etched into the patina of rocks in Murujuga, the area's Indigenous name. Their depictions of the human face can't be published due to cultural protocol, but experts say the existence of the artwork is of exceptional value to humankind. Local Indigenous custodians Raelene Cooper and Josie Alec have fought for years to preserve their cultural heritage and found an ally in Benjamin Smith, president of the International Scientific Committee for Rock Art, who has framed the final call on the extension as 'perhaps the most important environmental decision of our lifetime.' 'What will be approved here is the biggest carbon bomb in the southern hemisphere and the extension of a plant that is actively damaging the most important rock art site in the southern hemisphere, if not the world,' said Smith, a professor of archaeology at the University of Western Australia. Smith told CNN in 2022 that sulfur and nitrogen oxides emitted from the industrial plants on Murujuga were mixing with moisture in the air to form acid rain that was damaging the rocks – findings later proven in a lab. He's accused the Western Australian government - which supports the gas extension – of trying to bury the results of its own monitoring programs that he says prove that emissions from the gas plant are damaging the rocks. CNN has reached out to the Western Australian government for comment. In response to the government's proposed approval, Cooper, Murujuga's traditional custodian, issued a short statement that began with: 'See you in Court.' Acidic emissions from industrial plants near the Murujuga rock art already appear to have thwarted attempts to gain World Heritage protection for the site, according to advice from an advisory body to the World Heritage Committee. The draft decision released this week advises the application be referred back to the government, so it can 'ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions,' along with other requirements. Watt said in a statement the draft decision was disappointing, but his office would work with the World Heritage center to 'ensure the factual inaccuracies that influenced the draft decision are addressed.' Woodside welcomed the proposed approval of the Karratha Gas Plant extension, and said it believed that 'long-term co-existence between cultural heritage and industry is possible.' The company has rejected suggestions that emissions from the Karratha plant are damaging the rock art, and says it will work with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and state and federal governments to support the World Heritage listing. Climate campaigners fear approval for the North West Shelf extension will pave the way for what they say would be an even bigger environmental disaster – the drilling of Browse, Australia's largest untapped conventional gas reserve off the Western Australian coast. 'The North West Shelf project itself is for processing gas, and the gas has to come from somewhere,' said Joe Rafalowicz, Greenpeace Australia Pacific's climate and energy lead. 'Greenpeace and many other environmental groups have an eye to Woodside's real intentions, which is drilling for gas at Scott Reef.' Scott Reef is a remote ecosystem millions of years old that's home to a diverse array of marine life including endangered dusky sea snakes and migratory pygmy blue whales. The drilled gas would be sent to the Karratha plant for processing via a 900-kilometer (560-mile) pipeline. Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority rejected Woodside's Browse proposal last year due to unacceptable risks, but the company recently altered its plan and it's once again open for public consultation. 'They've come back with a new proposal, which, on the face of it, seems as though it's a much more reasonable proposal, but when you actually look at the detail … they're still talking about extracting the same gas from underneath Scott Reef,' said Matt Roberts, executive director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia. Campaigners fear drilling will compromise the seabed supporting the reef and Sandy Islet, a breeding ground for vulnerable populations of green turtles. By extending its lifespan, Woodside sees an opportunity to profit from demand for LNG from Asia, as countries seek alternatives to coal-fired power. But the picture is complicated by conflicting forecasts about how much gas customers in Asia will need – and whether the gas will be ordered in high enough volumes and at a price that justifies the huge financial costs of new gas projects. 'Industry forecasts such as those from Shell and Wood Mackenzie often paint a rosy picture for future LNG demand in Asia, partly due to coal-gas switching,' said Josh Runciman, from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), 'However, what we're seeing on the ground is that LNG is unlikely to be competitive with both coal and renewables, and this is largely because LNG is relatively expensive,' he said. The United States remains the world's largest gas exporter, and Woodside recently confirmed a $17.5 billion investment in its Louisiana LNG project, which it's called a 'game changer' for the company. If the Australian government ultimately approves the North West Shelf, Runciman said developing the Browse gas field will pose daunting technical and financial challenges. 'The natural question is, does Woodside have the scope and the capacity to develop two major LNG projects effectively at the same time?' he said. Critics say regardless of the financials, if it goes ahead, the project will come at an extensive cost to millions of people most vulnerable to climate change. And they've made it clear the fight isn't over.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Labor's approval of Woodside's North West Shelf gas extension to 2070 divides opinion
Labor has approved a 40-year extension of Australia's largest gas plant in the first major decision of the re-elected Albanese government. Newly appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt's decision on Wednesday to grant approval for Woodside's North West Shelf extension in Western Australia's Pilbara has drawn praise from industry and unions and condemnation from conservationists and First Nations groups. Mr Watt announced the long-awaited call on the North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, twice delayed by former Minister Tanya Plibersek in Labor's first term, allowing Woodside to extend production and supply the domestic market by another 40 years until 2070. Its current approval was set to expire in 2030. 'Following the consideration of rigorous scientific and other advice including submissions from a wide cross-section of the community, I have today made a proposed decision to approve this development, subject to strict conditions, particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded onshore Karratha gas plant,' he said in a statement. Mr Watt said in making his proposed decision, he had considered 'the potential impacts of extending the life of the plant on the national heritage values of nearby ancient rock art' and 'economic and social matters concerning the proposed development'. 'Based on the evidence before me and the Department's recommendations, my proposed decision is subject to strict conditions,' he said. Mr Watt said the impact of air emissions on the Murujuga rock art that forms part of the Dampier Archipelago was considered as part of the process. 'I have ensured that adequate protection for the rock art is central to my proposed decision,' he said. Woodside has 10 business days to make additional comment before a final decision is made. 'While this process is ongoing, I will not be making further comment,' Mr Watt said. The opposition welcomed the announcement, while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Albanese government had 'failed again'. 'It seems they have learnt nothing from the last parliament where they continue to approve new coal and gas mines, only to now approve a pollution bomb that is worse than all of the others put together,' she told ABC. Woodside said the proposed approval would support thousands of jobs and supply 'reliable and affordable energy to Western Australia'. The North West Shelf Project has supplied more than 6000 petajoules of domestic gas, powering homes and industry in Western Australia, the company said — enough energy to power homes in a city the size of Perth for approximately 175 years. Environmental groups estimate the project will result in 4.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. 'Since starting operations in 1984, the North West Shelf Project has paid over $40 billion in royalties and taxes and supported regional development opportunities in the Pilbara,' Woodside executive vice president and chief operating officer Australia Liz Westcott said in a statement. Woodside, the country's largest oil and gas producer, added it remained committed to protecting the Murujuga sites and supported its World Heritage nomination. The North West Shelf decision came on the same day UNESCO knocked back Australia's bid to have the rock art, believed to be up to 50,000 years old, added to the World Heritage List. The state government environmental approval, granted in 2024, includes a commitment from Woodside for a 'significant reduction in air emissions and measures to manage greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce them over time', and to comply with air quality objectives and standards arising from the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program. Business groups and unions also supported the call. 'The reality is that we do need more gas, and we need it for a variety of reasons,' Business Council chief executive Bran Black told ABC Radio on Thursday. 'Of course, we need it for the purposes of our own energy transition, it's a critical transitional fuel source, but we also need it to support our friends and our allies overseas that have needs of their own in the course of their own energy transition. So that is an important thing, and this project very much contributes to that.' Mr Black added that the process had highlighted the need to speed up environmental approvals at the federal level for major projects. 'That's not to say that we want to try and cut corners, indeed, we think it's critical that these types of processes appropriately balance up environmental, social and economic considerations, but at the end of the day, we've got to be able to deliver greater certainty,' he said. He stressed that the Business Council remained committed to net zero by 2050. 'All of this comes back to a balancing exercise,' Mr Black said. 'We have to deliver net zero, we know that we need to move towards that objective, but at the same time, we've got to account for the fact that our power needs, not just in Australia but around the world, are increasing, and we need to make sure that power can continue to be delivered affordably and reliably throughout that process.' Australian Workers' Union national secretary Paul Farrow said the announcement 'correctly prioritises and secures the future of well paid union jobs in WA and secures supply of a crucial transition fuel we need as more renewable energy sources like wind and solar come online'. 'Today's decision to maintain a stable, operational project employing well over a thousand hydrocarbons workers in well-paid jobs is a victory for common sense and allows our members to continue their important work for years to come,' he said on Wednesday. 'Although most of the gas produced by the NWS Project is sent overseas, the project also provides a significant amount of gas domestically. Western Australians, from Broome to Bunbury, can now continue to rely upon this essential fuel into the future.' The decision is likely to be challenged. 'See you in court,' Raelene Cooper, a Mardathoonera woman and former Chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said in a statement. 'I'm not on my own, I'm bringing warriors from this ngurra with me.' Greenpeace said it was a 'terrible decision'. Mr Watt last week formally rejected concerns raised by environmental groups, including Greenpeace, about the North West Shelf extension, clearing the way for final approval. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the potential impact on Scott Reef, which is home to threatened species such as pygmy blue whales and green sea turtles. 'The North West Shelf facility is one of Australia's dirtiest and most polluting fossil fuel projects,' Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said. 'This approval brings Woodside's toxic gas plans closer to Scott Reef, holds back the clean energy transition underway in WA, and fuels growing climate damage in Australia and around the world.' The Climate Council said the project marked the Albanese government's 27th coal, oil or gas approval since taking office. 'Peter Dutton promised to approve this project before the last election. Voters rejected Dutton,' Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said. 'Why would the Albanese Government take Dutton's lead on climate policy? Approving the North West Shelf extension leaves a polluting stain on Labor's climate legacy. Australians voted for a renewable-powered future, not more climate pollution and destruction.' The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) also called it a 'bitterly disappointing decision that locks in decades more climate pollution and will drive demand to open new gas fields'. 'That the gas is destined for export makes no difference to its climate impact,' ACF chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said. 'It will be felt by Australians through more intense and frequent extreme weather events like bushfires, heatwaves, floods and coral deaths. Woodside is seeking this extension so it can drill gas from the proposed Browse gas field at Scott Reef, further fuelling global heating.' Ms O'Shanassy also claimed the ancient petroglyphs at Murujuga 'may not be visible in 2070 if acid emissions from Woodside's Burrup gas hub keep deteriorating the rocks' surface'. Murujuga traditional owner and ACF First Nations lead Josie Alec said what was happening to the rock art at Murujuga 'is like Juukan Gorge in slow motion', referring to the ancient rock shelter cave destroyed by mining company Rio Tinto in 2020. 'The UNESCO World Heritage nomination of the rock art will be a farce if 40 more years of acid pollution is allowed to damage the petroglyphs at Murujuga,' Ms Alec said. 'As the First Nations Lead at ACF I am appalled of the lack of community consultation before making this decision. Environment Minister Watt should do everything in his power to protect the rock art, not protect the gas industry.' The Bob Brown Foundation branded the decision an act of 'climate bastardry'. 'The Prime Minister's spin [of] 'accelerating global heating with another 40 years of gas as necessary for 'firming' in the energy transition', makes him no better than every other climate denier and fossil fuel appeaser,' patron Christine Milne said. 'Forget 'friend of Pacific', forget Minister Bowen standing in front of wind farms or electric vehicles, it is all just duplicitous greenwashing as this gas carbon bomb is detonated.' The Australia Institute said the Albanese government had 'opted, once again, to put big gas ahead of Australians'. 'Voters who put their faith in Labor to do the right thing for the climate must be feeling bitterly disappointed today,' Australia Institute research director Rod Campbell said on Wednesday. 'This expansion will do vast damage and deliver almost no benefit to Australia or Australians. For a government re-elected to take meaningful action on climate change, expanding the nation's biggest fossil fuel project for another 50 years is a dreadful way to kick off its second term.'
