![\"Environment](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/979f036f1fd645ac44a1e24451131af47dbc5c47.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWatt\u2019s approval ends years of uncertainty over the future of the North West Shelf, which has been supplying gas to WA customers and shipping super-chilled liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Asia since the 1980s. Its approvals were due to expire in 2030.<\/p>\n
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Woodside on Friday welcomed the government\u2019s extension decision, noting it came with \u201crigorous conditions\u201d to protect cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis final approval provides certainty for the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf project so it can continue to provide reliable energy supplies as it has for more than 40 years,\u201d Woodside chief operating officer Liz Westcott said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoodside remains committed to protecting the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and was a proud supporter of the World Heritage nomination and assessment process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australian Conservation Foundation climate program manager Gavan McFadzean said the government\u2019s progress on renewable energy was \u201cwiped out\u201d by its support for fossil fuel expansion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conditions can\u2019t alter the fact the Albanese government is responsible for granting one of the world\u2019s largest gas approvals while the planet is engulfed in a climate crisis,\u201d McFadzean said.<\/p>\n
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Environment Minister Murray Watt last month.Credit: Russel Millard<\/p>\n
\u201cIt beggars belief that the Albanese government would choose to detonate this carbon bomb. With this decision, Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese has betrayed Australians who voted for him, believing he was serious about acting on climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodside\u2019s Karratha gas processing plant is less than one kilometre away from the World Heritage-listed Aboriginal rock art, known locally as Murujuga and up to 60,000 years old.<\/p>\n
A departmental briefing prepared for Watt and released under freedom of information laws<\/a> warned that if the extension was granted, emissions from the Karratha plant could affect the ancient rock art and heritage values of the Dampier Archipelago, including Murujuga.<\/p>\n Traditional Custodian Raelene Cooper applied to the government for a cultural heritage assessment of Murujuga under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. The Federal Court in August ruled the federal government had unreasonably delayed its response to her application.<\/p>\n Traditional custodian Raelene Cooper in May with the Woodside facility behind her.<\/p>\n Section 10 of the act allows the environment minister to preserve culturally significant sites and to stop any works that could \u201cdesecrate\u201d those sites, and Cooper claimed Woodside\u2019s emissions were accelerating the degradation of the rock art.<\/p>\n On Friday, Watt said he had made a partial declaration to protect Murujuga\u2019s heritage value, but that the declaration would not prevent industry from operating in the area.<\/p>\n This, he said, would protect \u201ca significant Aboriginal heritage area and\/or objects that are under threat of injury or desecration\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe declaration will mean additional legal protections placed over part of the area, to ensure Murujuga\u2019s ancient rock art is appropriately protected into the future,\u201d Watt said.<\/p>\n \u2018It beggars belief that the Albanese government would choose to detonate this carbon bomb.\u2019<\/p>\n Gavan McFadzean, Australian Conservation Foundation<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, this decision does not stop industry from operating at Murujuga.\u201d<\/p>\n Energy industry leaders on Friday said the announcement would drive investment and ensure Australia had enough gas to back up the accelerating role of renewable energy.<\/p>\n Anita Logiudice, the policy and advocacy director at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA, said the long-awaited resolution significantly boosted the state\u2019s energy security and would benefit West Australian industry and households.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of the North West Shelf to WA cannot be overstated,\u201d Logiudice said.<\/p>\n Watt gave preliminary approval in May to the 40-year expansion of Woodside Energy\u2019s operations in the north-west of WA, comprising a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas-processing hub in Karratha.<\/p>\n The development comes as Albanese prepares to unveil the government\u2019s 2035 emissions reduction targets<\/a> next week.<\/p>\n![\"Traditional](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/644ff365b1ea8c9462ddfc860902028525afd930.jpeg\")
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