Shadow environment minister Chris Tallentire told the media last week that the Opposition would "look at" giving the State Administrative Tribunal the final say in determining appeals against environmentally-sensitive projects.

 

Such a move, long agitated for by environmental groups, followed the WA government going against the advice of its own environmental watchdog last Monday by approving Canadian concern Cameco's plans to develop the state's biggest uranium deposit at Yeelirrie.

 

Yet WA Labor leader Mark McGowan was swiftly telling reporters he had "counselled" Tallentire "fairly heavily" for his public statements.

 

"I think he is guilty of a bit of exuberance and speaking without informing me," McGowan said.

 

"That is not our policy."

 

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association's WA chief operating officer Stedman Ellis welcomed McGowan's move.

 

"Clarification of Labor's position is welcome," Stedman told Energy News.

 

"The last thing industry needs is another layer of red tape and more delay.

 

"The buck should ultimately stop with the minister."

 

The Association of Mining & Exploration Companies also welcomed McGowan's clarification as saying it "avoided yet another potential layer of red tape".

 

McGowan was ironically the environment minister who approved Chevron Corporation's Gorgon LNG in 2006 against the advice of the Environmental Protection Authority, which recommended that the project should not proceed on the Class-A Reserve at Barrow Island.

 

The EPA concluded that environmental risks remained around the flatback turtle populations, dredging, introduction of non-indigenous species and subterranean and short-range invertebrate fauna.

 

The EPA also advised that the project would be environmentally unacceptable if it did not include a scheme designed to inject a high percentage of the carbon dioxide back into the ground to reduce the about of CO2 vented to the atmosphere.

 

Chevron is pursuing a carbon dioxide injection project for Barrow Island with capacity volume of 3.4-4 million tonnes per annum.

 

McGowan said at the time that the EPA had "played an important role in identifying environmental risks, prompting the development of a more rigorous regime of environmental mitigation measures".

 

He imposed what he described as "a raft of tough environmental conditions" on Gorgon, having determined 11 appeals on the project after finalising a three-point environmental protection plan.

 

Now, as opposition leader, McGowan has promised to ban hydraulic fracturing in WA's South West region.

 

However, the proposed ban will have little practical effect, with just five permits within the South West and Peel regions: CalEnergy's EP 408; Whicher Range Energy's EP 381, which contains the Rutile-1 oil shows; Bunbury Energy's EPA 132 and Pilot Energy's EP 416 and EP 480.

 

CalEnergy, Bunbury and Pilot have all said they have no plans to frac as they do not believe the geology is suitable, and Cameron Manifold's Whicher Range is cash-strapped.