The WA Cook Government's decision to quietly reinstate the export ban for Perth Basin gas projects, while officially lifting it in other parts of the state, puts the Kimberley at serious risk.
In October 2021, American company Black Mountain reached a conditional agreement with the WA Government, which would allow it to export fracked gas from its Kimberley tenements. Meanwhile, Buru Energy is pursuing a floating gas facility and associated pipeline in order to export oil and gas from its Kimberley tenements.
Lock the Gate Alliance WA Coordinator Claire McKinnon said the Cook Government appeared to be doubling down on its support for the dangerous, polluting industry in the Kimberley.
“Oil and gas companies hold huge tenements over breathtakingly beautiful and culturally rich parts of the Kimberley, and the projects they have planned would all rely on building new destructive pipelines for export,” she said.
“This could have been an opportunity for the Cook Government to protect the Kimberley’s communities, culture, and precious environment from the scourge of oil and gas. Instead, the government seems to be making it easier for oil and gas companies active in the region to apply to export.
“The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report clearly says governments around the world must not allow new fossil fuel projects if humanity is to avoid climate catastrophe.
“Yet here in WA, the Cook Government is eager to fan the flames on an already overheating planet, instead of responsibly putting in place a ban on fracking, and a ban on new oil and gas projects in the Kimberley.”
The decision to reinstate the Perth Basin export ban, but not to extend it to the Kimberley, came just days after more than 3000 people attended the Frack Free Kimberley concert in Broome at the weekend.
ENDS