With the Federal Government’s domestic gas reservation set to apply in Western Australia, the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) said the state can easily secure its energy needs without sacrificing precious places like Scott Reef and the Kimberley.
CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said that if the Albanese government can succeed where the state government has failed by implementing a domestic gas reservation policy that actually works, “we’ll have more than enough gas for WA to thrive through the energy transition.”
“Roger Cook has confected a false ‘either-or’ scenario where avoiding supposed gas shortfalls rests on a choice between drilling at Scott Reef, or fracking in the Kimberley,” Mr Roberts said.
”But we need to remember, these predicted shortfalls only exist because the WA government has failed to enforce its own domestic gas quotas.
“Only 8% of the agreed 15% of gas has flowed into WA businesses and households since the WA gas reservation scheme was introduced. The rest has gone overseas.
“WA doesn’t need new gas projects — we need our government to stop letting multinational gas corporations take us for a ride.
“Scott Reef is one of the world’s most precious ocean ecosystems and a key feeding ground for migrating whales and other marine species. It would be a travesty to sacrifice it for Woodside’s gas export profits.
“Western Australians love the Kimberley, and we don’t want to see it turned into an industrial zone by gas frackers.
“There’s an easy solution here for Roger Cook, which is to make sure we keep enough of our gas here in WA, instead of letting more than 90% of it be shipped overseas.
“It’s time for Premier Cook to pick a side. He can back WA homes and businesses and reserve more of our gas for WA, or he can back the big gas exporters by trying to seek an exemption from the federal scheme.
“The Premier has tanked the federal government’s plans more than once. Will he sabotage the domestic gas reservation scheme, or will he choose what's right for Western Australians and the places we love?
“If we want cheap, reliable energy that protects us from chaotic global gas markets, we need to make an urgent transition to renewables.
“A proper gas reservation scheme will help us get there, but approving new gas projects will only set us further and further back.”
ENDS
Media contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780