Western Australia

The $50 billion Gorgon gas development on Barrow Island has been given final environmental approval by the Western Australian Government.

It is estimated the Chevron liquefied natural gas project will generate an estimated 10,000 jobs during construction and boost Australia’s gross domestic product by $64 billion.

Final approval for the revised and expanded development has been granted with strong new environmental conditions to provide higher levels of protection for regionally significant coral reefs and flatback marine turtles.

The environmental conditions governing the project ensure that:
- coral lost due to dredging will continue to be confined to 3% of the total coral area off the east coast of Barrow Island;
- monitoring is extended to significant coral reef outcrops outside impact zones;
- artificial light emissions will be minimised to protect the local population of flatback turtles;
- the turtle conservation program will be extended from 30 years to the life of the project;
- noise emissions be incorporated into the long-term marine turtle management plan and other plans as required; and
- the proponent continue monitoring for subterranean fauna.

It is the first time the government has required management of light emissions as a project condition. The requirement has been incorporated in the environmental approval because of the value of Barrow Island as a habitat for the flatback turtles.

The government has also included the requirement that Chevron enhance the turtle population by establishing hatcheries if there is a decline in turtle numbers around the island.

A planning strategy is being formulated for the coastline between Dongara and Cape Burney in response to increasing demand for land.

Rural coastal properties in the area are currently experiencing increasing pressure for subdivision and development, and the State Government is planning for the development and potential population increase along the coastal zone.

The strategy will ensure the stretch of coastline is properly managed and will also determine the future use and type of development that may occur in the area.

A steering committee has been formed to guide the development of the area in liaison with the WA Department of Planning, the City of Geraldton-Greenough and the Shire of Irwin. Community workshops will be held in the future to ensure community participation in the early stages of the strategy development process.

Twenty-one recycling projects involving business, industry, local government and community organisations have attracted $824,000 in funding from the State Government.

The funding has come from the Strategic Waste Initiatives Scheme ($713.432) and the Community Grants Scheme ($110,865).

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council received the largest allocation of funds ($169,205) for two projects; the continuation of a mattress recycling project and a fluorescent recycling study.

The second major allocation of funds went to Curtin University to support a study into the recycling of concrete road base. The study will be important in reducing the amount of construction and demolition that goes to landfill.

Construction and demolition waste represents the largest category of waste material going to landfill in Western Australia in terms of weight and volume.

Programs to protect two of Western Australia’s critically endangered species are being boosted by $60,000 in State Government funding.

The money from the Natural Resource Management Fund will help efforts to aid the recovery of Gilbert’s Potoroo and the elusive Western Ground Parrot.

There is one population of about 35 potoroos at Two Peoples Bay and a second introduced population of about 25 of the animals on Bald Island off the coast of Albany. The NRM funding will support the monitoring of the potoroos in the crucial mainland population.

There are two known populations of the Western Ground Parrot – in the Fitzgerald River and Cape Arid national parks. The funds allocated to help the birds recover will be used to develop methods of managing feral cats in the Fitzgerald National Park.