James Price Point a nursery for Humpback whales: Independent study

Humpback whales were observed giving birth in the coastal corridor off James Price Point, where Woodside is proposing to build a gas industrial complex, an independent land-based whale survey has found.

“The survey was undertaken in response to the strategic assessment report for James Price Point that lacked a land-based whale survey and an assessment of behavioral data,” said Jenita Enevoldsen from The Wilderness Society.

“Contrary to the strategic assessment report, the independent study observed a large number of whale calves within 5km of James Price Point, highlighting the potential importance of the area as a whale nursery,” said Maddie Goddard - independent marine scientist, representing the Broome No gas Campaign.

“We also observed a significant reduction in the number of whale sightings when operational drilling rigs were present at James Price Point. These findings raise serious questions about the potential impacts of the proposed construction of a port precinct, especially the blasting and dredging. Habitat degradation¹ is known as the single biggest threat to this species outside of the resumption of commercial whaling”.

“This is another example of independent community science highlighting inadequacies in the environmental assessment for this proposed development. The Environmental Protection Authority must question the reliability of the strategic assessment report in making any decision about the suitability of this site for development,” said Jenita Enevoldsen, marine campaigner for The Wilderness Society.

¹ DEH 2005, Humpback whale Recovery Plan 2005-2010, http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/m-novaeangliae/pubs/m-novaeangliae.pdf

The Kimberley's Commonwealth Marine Parks

Opinion Piece: Richard Costin, Broome

Tony Burke’s announcement of the establishment of a comprehensive network of Commonwealth Marine Parks around the Australian coast should help to still international criticism over the establishment of industrial ports in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and limit the destruction of sensitive marine areas by industrial demersal trawling around the coast. 

The Great Barrier Reef has become the focal point of his plan with huge areas of the Coral Sea to be protected by a new Commonwealth Marine National Park. The scale of the proposed park in Queensland has captured the attention of the nation, and should provide real protection for the area by excluding the oil and gas industry and demersal trawling fleets.

On the other side of the country, in the resource rich waters of the Pilbara and Kimberley coast, a completely different story is unfolding. The proposed Commonwealth Marine Parks in this area may soon become the new greenwash for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Under the new proposal, around 255,000km2 of the Pilbara and Kimberley coast are to be protected by a series of marine national parks and multiple use zones. These areas have also become the new frontier for the multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry.

Clear contradictions have emerged where the oil and gas industry will be allowed to operate in approximately 95% of these marine parks.

According to the guidelines set out in the northwest Bioregional Plan, one of the key objectives of the marine park is to take a precautionary approach to protecting the conservation values of these reserves which should also have the capacity to mitigate identified threats to these values. A careful examination of the zoning and IUCN classifications for the proposed parks highlights these contradictions. The IUCN ll category, Marine National Parks, is designed to provide the highest level of protection for the conservation values in the region and does not allow for oil and gas exploration and development. Multiple use zones, IUCN Vl, allow for a range of existing activities to continue within the reserve, but will exclude activities that carry a high risk to the conservation values of the marine parks.

So should heavy industrial oil and gas development be considered as a high or low risk activity? The growing list of oil spill disasters around the world such as Montara, in the Kimberley, and the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico clearly demonstrate that these are high risk activities.

Every Australian is fully aware of the dangers posed by the offshore oil and gas industry, so why should Tony Burke by confused by what constitutes a high or low risk activity? The proposal to allow oil and gas exploration and development in the new Commonwealth Marine Parks in the Kimberley and Pilbara, should be questioned. The assurances of the Federal Resource minister Martin Ferguson and the oil and gas industry that these activities are safe, have a hollow ring to them. There is no way they can guarantee that there will not be another major oil spill on the Kimberley coast.

The oil and gas industry is ramping up its activities in Kimberley waters and is now pressuring the Federal government to streamline the approvals process. Under the zoning conditions for the multiple use zones, petroleum exploration and development areas that have been released before the declaration of the marine reserves will be allowed to continue operations. This applies to most of the proposed commonwealth marine reserves in the Pilbara and Kimberley.

If new legislation is enacted that guarantees access for the oil and gas industry to Commonwealth Marine Parks, as a condition of the zoning, this may provide a rubber stamp that removes the requirement for each operation to be carefully scrutinized under the EPBC Act.

Despite this development cloud hanging over the Kimberley coast, there are a number of bright spots on the horizon. The proposed Kimberley Marine National Park, which covers an area of around 7905 km2, which when combined with the new whale conservation area in the Camden Sound Marine Park, will increase the area of protection for migrating Humpback whales to around 15% of their Kimberley calving grounds. However, this marine park does not extend south along the Dampier Peninsula to Broome which is one of the main congregation area for migrating Humpback whales. The iconic Broome coastal region will have no protection and may be left open for the establishment of the James Price Point industrial precinct.

The proposed Kimberley Marine Park will be the only reserve to exclude both demersal trawling and oil and gas development. This represents around 3% of the proposed commonwealth Pilbara and Kimberley Marine Reserves. The rest will be open for oil and gas exploration and development.

Many questions need to be asked. Are the environmental standards that apply to the offshore oil and gas industry rigorous enough to protect the australian coast from major pollution? How will the management of the parks be funded? Will these management costs become part of the mining offset package to boost the environmental credentials of the oil and gas companies that operate in these marine parks or will they be independently funded and managed by the Australian people? Will the new marine/industrial parks in the Pilbara and the Kimberley protect the unique conservation values in the regions, or will they serve the interests of the offshore oil and gas industry? Are these developments good for Australia?

Tony Burke has a wonderful opportunity to put in place some real protection for the Australian coast. Let’s hope he has the courage to deliver world class marine parks for the Australian people.

New Marine Parks affect exploration

STAFF REPORTER

THURSDAY, 14 JUNE 2012 09:28

Oil and gas exploration, as well as fishing, will be banned in massive areas off Western Australia under one of the most ambitious conservation measures to be undertaken by the Federal Government.

The Gillard Government has taken the extraordinary step of banning fishing and oil and gas exploration off virtually all the Margaret River coastline. In Western Australia, more than 20 areas from the Kimberley to the south coast will be declared marine sanctuary or "no-take" zones in which all forms of fishing and oil and gas drilling are forbidden.

Environment Minister Tony Burke will today announce the final boundaries for a vast network of marine parks stretching around Australia in Commonwealth waters three to 200 nautical miles (5.5-370km) offshore.

Touting the move as a seminal environmental achievement, Mr Burke said it would ensure marine parks covered more than a third of Australia's waters, or about 3.1 million square kilometres.

Nationwide, enormous areas of ocean will be set aside for conservation, including much of the Coral Sea.

The announcement comes on top of recent moves by the Barnett Government to set up a series of marine reserves in waters between the coast and three nautical miles offshore.

In March, the State Government announced it had created the Ngari Capes Marine Park in the South West, while plans for a reserve at Camden Sound in the Kimberley were realised weeks later.

Mr Burke said the marine parks would enshrine the same level of protection for Australia's oceans as existed on land.

Announcement of the Final Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Proposal

via email:

This morning the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Hon. Tony Burke, released the final Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network proposals for the South-west, North-west, North, Coral Sea and Temperate East Marine Regions.

The final marine reserves network proposals reflects revisions made as a result of the recent public consultation process conducted in each marine region and the assessment of potential socio-economic impacts undertaken in parallel with the public consultation.

In the coming weeks, the Director of National Parks will release a public notice inviting comment on the proposed proclamation of the final Commonwealth marine reserves. Once the notice has been published in the Commonwealth Government Gazette, the public will have 60 days to provide comment to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

Information on the final Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network proposal can be found at www.environment.gov.au/marinereserves

National Map: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/reserves/pubs/map-national.pdf

Kimberley map: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/reserves/nw-kimberley.html

Gas hub groups risk $1.5b loss

Flip Prior, The West AustralianJune 12, 2012, 4:18 am
The State Government has warned Kimberley Aboriginal groups they risk losing a $1.5 billion compensation package because of their plan to pull out of a native title deal covering the site of the planned James Price Point gas hub.

It has also again raised the spectre of the Government compulsorily acquiring the land north of Broome to ensure the Woodside Petroleum-led $30 billion LNG development goes ahead.

The warning came after the Goolarabooloo and Jabirr Jabirr groups approached the Federal Court last week to have their joint native title claim covering the Browse LNG precinct discontinued.

The Goolarabooloo and Jabirr Jabirr are expected to instead lodge separate native title claims over the area.

However, court determination of which group has native title rights is expected to take at least a year and could jeopardise State and Federal government plans for construction of the James Price Point hub to start in the middle of next year.

The Federal Court will hear the claimant groups' discontinuance application on Thursday.

The Goolarabooloo and Jabirr Jabirr, represented by the Kimberley Land Council, signed a $1.5 billion compensation deal with the State Government and LNG project operator Woodside Petroleum in 2009.

A Department of State Development spokesman said yesterday the Government had advised the KLC it would oppose the application and considered the proposal a breach of the Browse agreements, including the project, regional benefits and land use agreements.Woodside declined to comment.

Woman dies in 60m Kimberley waterfall plunge in WA

news.com.au

A VICTORIAN woman has died after plunging 60 metres down the spectacular Mitchell Falls waterfall in the far north of WA.

Police said the 37-year-old Victorian tourist died after falling down Big Mertens Falls near the spectacular Mitchell Falls in the Mitchell River National Park, one of the iconic tourist attractions in the Kimberley.

The woman is believed to have slipped and fallen to her death into a pool below the falls.

A paramedic was at the scene and the woman was declared dead at the scene.

The accident happened about 10.30am yesterday and the woman's husband was with her before she fell.

Police were notified at 11.25am and flew to the scene.

It is understood rescue workers were unable to retrieve the woman's body yesterday due to the remote, rugged location.

However her body has now been removed.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/woman-dies-in-60m-kimberley-waterfall-plunge-in-wa/story-e6frfku0-1226391563700#ixzz1xTec1FDS

Marine Park Network to be announced

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-11/marine-park-network-to-be-announced/4063520

Crowd gathers in protest of gas hub

Flip Prior
The West

A crowd of about 1000 people gathered at the Nicholas Emo Centre in Broome this morning for a "we love Broome" event - the latest in a series of peaceful protests against the proposed gas hub at James Price Point.


Jabirr Jabirr woman Mitch Torres led the event along with representatives of other well-known "old families of Broome" - Steve Pigram, Alan Pigram, Colleen Masuda and Mark Manado.


Ms Torres said those attending were the "heart and soul" of the community which was under "creeping stress" from development.


"This threat to James Price Point and our community from the social, environmental and potential cultural impacts are of grave concern to us all," she said.


After the event, Ms Torres said she was pleased with the turnout.


"Ot's a show of the concerns the communities have - people are still fired up about it and they know there are alternatives now," she said.


"What happened yesterday with the courts was another indication that things are changing."


She said the people present were Broome residents who held down jobs and had children to feed and mortgages to pay, so would not be spotted on the front lines of protest actions.

"They cannot get out there - they have to make a living. But they are people who live here constantly. There's only a few of us who put ourselves out there in public knowing there will be a backlash. I personally have been verbally abused by people who are for the gas ... But that's not going to stop me."

New dolphin for James Price Point suggests inadequate environmental impact assessment: scientist

Robert Mailer and Ben Collins
ABC

Dr Simon Allen says confirmation of a dwarf dolphin not previously recorded in waters off the site for a controversial gas precinct demonstrates that the State Government's environmental impact assessment is sub-standard.

These small dolphins swimming off the West Kimberley coast could be a new species. (June 2012) (Paul Bell -Feral Films)

The dolphin researcher is part of Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Centre which last year made a public submission criticising the Department of State Development's Browse LNG Precinct Strategic Assessment Report on impacts a planned gas processing precinct would have on the marine environment.
The scientists questioned the scientific integrity of this report in part because of their claim that the survey techniques would not be able to distinguish between different species of dolphin. And sure enough, Dr Allen now says that he has determined that there is a type of dolphin not listed in the government report swimming several nautical miles off the coast of James Price Point.

"Its significance lies not in the fact that this is potentially a new species... it's remarkable that a dolphin or a whale could be unknown..."

Dr Allen is yet to confirm the identity of the miniature dolphin which reaches a size of around a metre-and-a-half at maturity. It appears most like the dwarf spinner dolphin found in the Gulf of Thailand, but may yet prove to be a unique species. But Dr Allen is keen to focus on what the dolphin's discovery says about the survey conducted for the State Government's Strategic Assessment rather than the excitement of what may be a species new to science.

"We surely cannot rely on a decision maker to make an assessment on such a large proposal based on an environmental impact assessment that can't identify between one species and another" says Dr Allen.
Woodside petroleum, which is investigating the site of the State Government's gas precinct planned for James Price Point released a statement in response to Dr Allen's criticisms of the marine surveys:
"The Browse LNG Development has invested more than $80 million in environmental studies over many years to provide us with baseline environmental data. This data helps us understand what potential environmental impacts our development may have, and develop best practice approaches to avoiding, mitigating and managing those impacts. The baseline data also provides us with a dataset that we will use to monitor the Browse LNG Development's ongoing environmental performance.

This information also forms the basis of the environmental impact assessments we have supplied to regulators as part of the environmental approvals processes.

The environmental studies, impact assessments and management plans for both the Upstream EIS and the Strategic Assessment have been released for public review and comment and are now before regulators for assessment."

Woodside halts drilling at claimed culturally significant site

Rania SpoonerSydney Morning Herald

Woodside Petroleum has agreed to stop drilling at the controversial site marked for a $35 billion gas hub, only moments before a Goolarabooloo man’s application to halt works was due to heard by a Perth Supreme Court today.

It is understood Woodside would continue other earth moving works at the James price point site in Western Australia's Kimberly region, but would not touch sections on the coastline and dunes, which applicant Thomas Hunter claims have cultural and environmental Importance.

Mr Hunter is represented by the Environmental Defender's Office principal solicitor Josie Walker who said an agreement to throw out the application had been reached half an hour before they appeared in court.Mr Hunter has taken the Shire of Broome and Woodside to court claiming an important report was not considered by the Kimberly Joint Development Assessment Panel prior to Woodside obtaining approvals to work at the site in Frebruary.

The EDO claim the approvals are invalid and are seeking a determination from the court, which could mean longer delays.

A lawyer appearing for the WA Minister for Planning suggested he may attempt to join the case.

A final investment decision on the hub is not expected until the middle of 2013.

The matter has been adjourned until June 15.

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/business/woodside-halts-drilling-at-claimed-culturally-significant-site-20120608-200r1.html#ixzz1xAvq3cKI

Brown makes a stand against proposed 'biggest gas plant on the planet'

Bob Brown and a traditional owner, Joseph Roe, survey the area for a proposed LNG plant at James Price Point on the coast 60 kilometres north of Broome.Photo: Glenn Campbell

THE campaign against a $30 billion gas project on the Kimberley coast in the far north of Western Australia went up a significant notch yesterday when Senator Bob Brown ''planted his feet on the ground'' of James Price Point and vowed to fight the huge development.

Asked if the new-found political heft of the conservation movement, courtesy of propping up Julia Gillard's minority Labor government, was sufficient to have the project blocked, the Greens leader replied: ''I wouldn't be here if I thought this was a fait accompli.

''My starting position is that this area - James Price Point and the Kimberley - is an international wonderland; globally, a big natural and indigenous heritage area.''

Visiting the iconic, raw-beef red escarpment 60 kilometres north of Broome at the invitation of dissident traditional landowners, Senator Brown said: ''The agenda is money and the question is this - will anywhere be out of bounds, or is all of Australia to be a quarry?''

Woodside Energy, on behalf of joint-venturers Shell, BP, Chevron and BHP Billiton, has the backing of the West Australian government. As a combined force they seemed poised to take advantage of divisions in the Aboriginal community to push ahead with the plant, which is to process natural-gas from the Browse Basin, in the ocean 400 kilometres off Broome.

But a September decision by the West Australian Premier, Colin Barnett, to compulsorily acquire the 2500 hectare site seemingly has created a common enemy for all sides in the conflict.

Senator Brown appealed for a genuine national debate on the location of ''possibly the biggest gas plant on the planet''.

''It can go elsewhere, this country can't,'' he said. Accusing Woodside of perverse conduct, Senator Brown said the company had spurned appeals from East Timor to locate a plant on the island, opting instead to process gas from its Greater Sunrise find in the Timor Sea at sea. ''But here, they say no, that the gas must come ashore,'' he said.

Senator Brown accused the energy quintet of attempting to override natural, environmental and Aboriginal law.

Turning his sights on Mr Barnett, he said: ''If it is big and megabucks and it doesn't take much to think about developers who want to sideline indigenous people and the natural environment, then this Premier is going to support it.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/brown-makes-a-stand-against-proposed-biggest-gas-plant-on-the-planet-20101013-16k49.html#ixzz1x4SvdBJ0

Bob Brown speaks in Broome - Images by Annabelle Sandes

Big bill for Browse pipeline

Peter Kerr, The West Australian

June 5, 2012, 7:18 am

Already struggling to contain costs on the Browse LNG project, Woodside and its joint venture partners face a multi-billion bill for a 650km domestic gas pipeline.

Premier Colin Barnett said that while negotiations over the project had yet to be concluded it would be expected - as for other WA ventures - to supply up to 15 per cent of its gas to WA industry.

To maximise the value of this gas, he said that a land-backed pipeline from James Price Point to Port Hedland to join the State's pipeline network would ultimately be necessary, rather than allowing the partners to provide offsetting gas from other developments as allowed under State Agreements.

"I do not rule anything in or out, but to get the value of what is a significant amount of domestic gas would require a pipeline to be built at some stage," he said.

"Obviously, if domestic gas is there, it will not be hard to find someone (other than government) to build a pipeline to run the gas down to Port Hedland," he told a post-Budget estimates hearing.

While Woodside and its partners may be able to find customers or infrastructure groups to underpin the cost of the pipeline, estimated to be in the billions, they may be forced to stump up the funds themselves.

Woodside, which operates the venture on behalf of partners BHP Billiton, Shell, Chevron, BP and Mitsui and Mitsubishi, would not be drawn on the issue, saying yesterday only that it was continuing "discussions with government around domestic gas".

Analysts think the massive greenfields venture will cost somewhere between $30 billion and an eye-watering $50 billion, potentially threatening the viability of the development.

BHP and Chevron are said to favour piping gas to the existing North West Shelf plant at Karratha to help offset declining reserves in that project's fields and to shave as much as $15 billion from the cost of processing Browse gas at James Price Point.

Having to build a land-based pipeline for domestic gas may give BHP and Chevron greater sway in their arguments to build a costlier but one-off sea-based pipeline to Karratha and existing LNG facilities and its domestic gas plant.

Opposition spokesman Bill Johnston said the Premier needed give the partners certainty.

"One of the biggest dangers to developments in this State is the Premier changing his mind," Mr Johnston said.

"There is capacity in the domestic reservation policy to swap gas, to allow a project to come on stream without having to build unnecessary infrastructure.

"It may be that the volumes from Browse justify a domestic gas pipeline, but like the troubled Albany pipeline project the Premier can't wish it into existence."

The Browse partners have delayed a final investment decision on their project until the middle of next year.

The Riji Carver - Aubrey Tigan

BUSINESS 'Mini dolphin' discovered near site of gas port

GRAHAM LLOYD, ENVIRONMENT EDITOR 

From:

The Australian 

June 02, 2012 12:00AM

A MINIATURE dolphin species has been discovered off the Kimberley coast near the site of the controversial James Price Point gas hub.

Murdoch University dolphin researcher Simon Allen said photographs and biopsy samples from the miniature dolphins, the adults of which appear to measure just 1.5m, had confirmed the significance of the find.

A Woodside Petroleum spokesman said the Browse joint venture had spent more than $80 million to undertake environmental studies, including comprehensive studies of whales and other marine life.

"We are focused on designing our facilities and preparing for construction and operational activities that consider and manage the full range of environmental impacts," the spokesman said.

But Mr Allen said many dolphins had simply been listed as "unidentified" in Woodside's environmental assessment, and that no distinction was made between the normal spinner dolphin and this miniature dolphin.

More data is required to determine whether the miniature dolphin is related to the spinner dolphin, which measures about 2m and has been identified in the area, or the dwarf spinner dolphin, which is known to inhabit the Gulf of Thailand. Two tissue samples from the miniature dolphin have been analysed at a laboratory in Zurich and the test results confirmed the dolphin was a new discovery for the area.

Mr Allen and his colleagues are collecting more samples for further testing. He said it was possible the dolphin would be found to be a new species.

Despite dolphins being some of the most charismatic and popular animals on the planet, Mr Allen said very little was known of the different species across northern Australia. He added that the find reinforced how little was known about life in our