The Greens congratulate Environmental Justice Australia and Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), who have secured a historic legal intervention on Woodside's proposed Browse offshore gas project.
ACF requested that the Minister should reconsider the project, having regard to the impact of the project's emissions on the Great Barrier Reef. The request followed comprehensive new evidence directly linking the project's emissions to coral deaths on the Reef.
The Minister has agreed to consider the request, which will now be open for public comment for 20 business days before a final decision is made. The Minister may uphold the original decision (that the project will not significantly impact the Reef), or accept that significant impacts on the Reef are likely and require a more detailed review.
As stated by Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson:
"Marine heatwaves caused by burning fossil fuels are driving coral bleaching events that are destroying the iconic Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.
"It doesn't matter where fossil fuels are drilled or burnt - the outcome is the same.
"Distance does not erase responsibility. Woodside's Browse project is a climate-wrecking carbon bomb that, if released, would have an unacceptable impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
"Accepting the reconsideration request is a promising sign, but make no mistake that the future of the Great Barrier Reef remains perilous under Labor's watch.
"Labor's pathetic climate target is consistent with warming above 2°C, which experts warn will cause the loss of 99% of coral reefs.
"The only thing that will truly protect the Great Barrier Reef is immediate climate action, which means the Albanese Labor government ending its reckless support of new fossil fuels."
As stated by Greens spokesperson for resources, Senator Steph Hodgins-May:
"Browse is not just a dud economic deal. It sells out our climate, our environment and our communities to the greediest bidder.
"Labor can delay and deflect, but it cannot escape the reality that Browse is an economic and environmental stinker.
"We shouldn't have to fight for science and community voices to prevail, but we will.
"This process will help reveal the true scale of the damage Browse would inflict on our oceans and reefs, from Scott Reef to the Great Barrier Reef.
"Australians don't want this climate-wrecking, reef-destroying, money-pit of a project, and through this process, they will tell the Labor Government: Browse must be scrapped once and for all."
