Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
Senator the Hon Jonno Duniam
Shadow Minister for the Environment, Fisheries and Forestry
Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate
Senator for Tasmania
Senator Susan McDonald
Shadow Minister for Resources
Shadow Minister for Northern Australia
LNP Senator for Queensland
$16 BILLION SCARBOROUGH GAS PROJECT LABOR’S LATEST HIT ON WA
Labor has nailed its colours to the mast as the most anti-WA Federal government in history, after its taxpayer-funded Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) once again sought to stop Woodside’s $16 billion Scarborough gas project in its tracks through Federal Court proceedings.
The EDO receives over $2 million from the Albanese Government every year and yet has a disgraceful record when it comes to aggressive lawfare against important resources projects. A Federal Court Justice recently found that the EDO even confected evidence and manipulated local Indigenous Australians in a bid to stop the Barossa gas project in the Northern Territory.
It is now representing the Doctors for the Environment Australia group, against both Woodside and the Federal Government through the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). The EDO had a previous court challenge against the Scarborough project thrown out because of the flimsy nature of their case.
Senator Michaelia Cash says that this is another underhanded move by the Albanese Government against WA.
“The Albanese Government is enabling environmental lawfare against critical projects in my state through their golden handshake with the EDO. It should never have funded this organisation, and if it had any backbone, the ALP would end this arrangement immediately,” Senator Cash said.
Senator Cash also questioned the links behind the applicant of the court proceedings, Doctors for the Environment Australia, and Teal MP Kate Chaney.
“The Member for Curtin must make clear whether she supports this environmental lawfare that is killing our resources industry, or whether she is behind our state and supports the Scarborough gas project.”
Shadow Environment Minister, Jonno Duniam, says that the government has questions to answer about its arrangement with the EDO,
“It is an unbelievable situation when you have the Federal Government enabling an organisation to reverse Federal Government approvals. They must come clean on whether their explicit funding to the EDO is being used to stop this project.”
“Industry must have confidence when it comes to environmental assessments, but this government has made a mockery of this process. They are more interested in gaining Greens votes in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney than overseeing timely and high quality assessments.”
Shadow Resources Minster Susan McDonald said, “this action by the EDO is yet another Labor-funded attack on our resources sector”.
“When Labor were in Opposition, they claimed to support Scarborough and the jobs and investment it would bring – now in Government, they are doing everything in their power to block and delay new gas projects across the country.”
The Scarborough gas project is 82 per cent complete and has already received state and federal environmental approval. It is expected to generate 3,000 jobs in construction and contribute more than $50 billion in direct and indirect tax payments.
Only the Coalition will stand up for the resources industry, the jobs it supports, and get Australia back on track.
ENDS
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