The Australian Greens have called on Federal Cabinet to resist pressure to scrap its full environmental strategic assessment for the Kimberley.

“According to an article in The Age newspaper today, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson is pushing hard for a speedy outcome for Woodside and has asked Environment Minister Peter Garrett for a quick approval of a single site at James Price Point,” Greens Environment Spokesperson Rachel Siewert said.

“This would be a disaster for the Kimberley and needs to be resisted by Mr Rudd, Mr Garrett and Federal Cabinet.

“The joint Federal and State strategic environmental planning process, begun in February last year, was called in response to growing interest in gas resources off the Kimberley and recognition of the need to protect the area’s outstanding environmental and cultural values.

“This included the need to gather more information about the terrestrial and marine environment in the region.

“James Price Point – like other sites on the Kimberley coast – is home to an extremely healthy tropical marine ecosystem, including important fish aggregations and populations of turtles and dugongs.

“As the assessment proceeds, it may emerge that James Price Point is not suitable for a hub.

“In fact, the terms of the strategic assessment mean that other sites outside the Kimberley must also be considered for an LNG hub.

“However, it suits the WA Premier to suggest that James Price Point is the only site in question and that everything hangs on the Traditional Owners agreeing to that site within the next two weeks.

“This puts unacceptable pressure on the Traditional Owners, who, like everyone else, do not yet have the full information about the hub’s environmental impacts.

“In reality, even if the Traditional Owners give in-principal agreement, selection of the site will still be subject to the joint Federal-State strategic environmental assessment.

“Mr Barnett’s approach – backed, it seems, by Mr Ferguson – is to try to undermine information-based planning. It is an approach that may well destroy the cultural heritage and wilderness values of the Kimberley.”

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