2025-05-22
The Greens have slammed Labor for secretly preparing to approve Australia’s biggest coal and gas development for the next 45 years, saying the decision would ‘haunt future generations’.
Leader of the Greens Senator Larissa Waters has received confirmation that Murray Watt has rejected three separate formal pleas from environment groups to reconsider the North West Shelf project - which clears the decks for an official approval ahead of the May 31 deadline.
The approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf carbon bomb would come as NSW is being lashed by ‘1 in 500 year’ floods, the most recent in a series of devastating climate fuelled disasters - each made worse by coal and gas.
Labor looks about to approve this project even faster than the Liberals’ pre-election guarantee to rush it through. Dutton promised to approve the North West Shelf within 30 days of forming government - Albanese is on track to approve it in just 19.
Gas is as dirty as coal - with emitted methane 86 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over the medium term.
Lines attributable to Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters:
“This was the new Labor government’s first big climate test, and Anthony Albanese is lining up to fail it spectacularly - approving Woodside’s carbon bomb even faster than Dutton planned to.
“Australia’s environment laws are broken, but a rapid-speed approval by Minister Watt indicates he has no intention of fixing them. The coal and gas industry must be rubbing their hands together.
“Labor and Woodside’s massive carbon bomb will make the climate crisis worse, destroy sacred Murujuga rock art, and clears the way for the Burrup Hub project, which will belch out 13 times Australia’s annual emissions.
“This approval will haunt future generations. Young people today are seeing the climate crisis getting worse, and are worried about their future - but Labor’s North West Shelf project will be heating the planet until 2070, long after their grandkids are born.
“Peter Dutton pledged to approve this massive gas project in 30 days and push the planet closer to climate collapse. Labor is on track to deliver this catastrophe even quicker.
“We need to protect our planet, kids, and farmers by stopping climate pollution from rising, but Labor have just enabled the biggest gas project this country has ever seen.”