Maxkamadda Federaalka ee Australia oo eegtay muddo shatiga Woodside ilaa 2070
Wasiirka Deegaanka Murray Watt wuxuu Woodside Energy u ogolaaday inay sii wado howlihii North West Shelf ilaa 2070. Maxkamadda Federaalka ee Melbourne ayaa si isku mid ah uga hor yimid FARA iyo ACF. Garsooraha Catherine Button ayaa xukunkeeda dib u dhigay.
Eedaymaha xagga eexda wasiirka
ACF qareenkeeda Angus Scott KC ayaa maxkamadda ku sheegtay 'extraordinary amount of engagement' ee u dhexeeyay shaqaalaha Watt iyo Woodside. Waxaa la wadaagi jiray ku dhawaad 200 farriin iyo iimayl. Garsooraha Catherine Button waxay ku tilmaantay soo jeedinta ACF mid ka mid ah 'chumminess or cosiness between the department and Woodside'.
FARA waxay tiri Watt wuxuu lahaa 'closed mind' oo uu 'cherry-picked' faa'iidada dhaqaale sida shaqo abuurka. Qareen Sashi Maharaj KC wuxuu ku dooday inuu 'copy and pasted' koob faa'iidada laga helay la-taliyayaasha Woodside. Watt wuxuu ku xiray 48 shuruudood kadib digniin Woodside.
Doodda dhinaca deegaanka iyo Browse
Stephen Lloyd SC wuxuu sheegay in Watt aysan u badneyn inuu ogaa farriimaha 'innocuous' ee shaqaalahiisa. Wuxuu Watt ku khilaafay Woodside oo ahayd qiiqa saamayn ma leh petroglyphs-ka Murujuga. Watt wuxuu helay saameyn Woodside diiday oo shuruuday.
Mashruuca $30 bilyan ee Browse ayaa hoos maray. Scott wuxuu yiri wasiirku qaldan buu u tixgeliyey Browse. Woodside waxay rabtaa gaaska 800,000 guri ku quwinaayo. Wakiilka shirkadu wuxuu yiri waxay gacan gelinaysaa dhaqaale iyo ammaan.
Farriin UN iyo xukunka
Astrid Puentes Riaño oo UN ka timid ayaa taageertay ACF iyo FARA. Kooxda Watt waxay cadeeyeen inaysan xisaabinayn 4 bilyan tan CO2. Riaño waxay ku qornayd 'purely arithmetical' oo aysan tixgelin khatarta sharciga caalamiga.
Woodside wakiil Damian Clothier KC wuxuu yiri dhiirigelintu muujinaysaa awoodda qancinta ee Woodside, ee ma aha eex. Farriin Woodside ayaa tiri 'Thanks Rachel! We got there!'. Garsooraha Button xukunkeeda ayay dib u dhigtay.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt approved Woodside Energy's North West Shelf facilities off Western Australia until 2070. In Melbourne Federal Court, the Friends of Australian Rock Art and Australian Conservation Foundation challenged the decision over alleged bias and process failures.
Allegations of close engagement with Woodside
The ACF's Angus Scott KC told the court an "extraordinary amount of engagement" between Mr Watt's staff and Woodside ensured a workable solution. Nearly 200 texts and emails were traded by the minister's office and Woodside, with Justice Catherine Button later describing the ACF suggestion as one of a "chumminess or cosiness between the department and Woodside".
FARA said Mr Watt's "closed mind" meant he "cherry-picked" economic advantages such as jobs and neglected counterarguments. Barrister Sashi Maharaj KC contended Mr Watt "copy and pasted" a summary of benefits from Woodside consultants into his published reasons, according to filed submissions.
Minister's defence and Browse project shadow
Mr Watt attached 48 conditions after Woodside warned his initial proposal would "amount to a refusal". Woodside's Damian Clothier KC said concessions showed persuasion strength, not bias, while Stephen Lloyd SC said Mr Watt likely was unaware of "innocuous" junior messages and disagreed on emissions damaging Murujuga rock carvings.
Woodside's $30 billion Browse basin expansion loomed over proceedings. Mr Scott said factoring Browse into the North West Shelf decision was wrong as it is separately assessed. Woodside hopes to process gas for 800,000 homes yearly via its Karratha plant, a spokesperson citing stakeholder-shaped environmental safeguards.
UN input and reserved judgment
UN envoy Astrid Puentes Riaño made unprecedented submissions supporting ACF and FARA. Mr Watt's team said he need not account for near 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions; Ms Riaño called this "purely arithmetical" and said it "did not consider the specific risk and the significant harm that the action would have had, as mandated by international law".
Justice Button has reserved her judgment for a later date. The court heard the minister found air emissions impacted petroglyphs and proposed mitigation conditions Woodside denied, with the legal outcome now pending before the Federal Court.
