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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Western Australia\u2019s environment minister has launched a strident defence of the state\u2019s environmental watchdog amid a wave of criticism from local governments and conservationists over the approval of several controversial projects, including plans for fracking exploration in the Kimberley and a South West tourism development.<\/p>\n Critics claim WA\u2019s Environmental Protection Authority has got some decisions \u201cseriously wrong\u201d, and that the watchdog had \u201cbowed to government pressure\u201d in choosing not to assess some projects.<\/p>\n However, speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia industry lunch on Tuesday, WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said those claims were \u201cdamaging\u201d and accused critics of driving an \u201cerosion of trust\u201d in the EPA.<\/p>\n Swinbourn said recent commentary on decisions had been concerning, \u201cboth in its confidence in being on the right side of the argument, and at times its distance from the facts\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf confidence in [the EPA] is lost as a result of disingenuous, strident and unfounded attacks on its credibility, it will become much harder to maintain the rigorous environmental standards that West Australians expect,\u201d Swinbourn said.<\/p>\n EPA chairman Darren Walsh also weighed in at the CEDA lunch, conceding the watchdog was operating in a \u201cvery contested environment at the moment\u201d.<\/p>\n The EPA recently received an unprecedented number of appeals \u2013 more than 8000<\/a> \u2013 after signing off on plans for Texan-owned oil and gas company Black Mountain Energy to frack the Kimberley as part of exploration for its Valhalla gas project.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, whether we receive one really well-informed submission versus 8000 not so well-informed submissions, what we\u2019re interested in is the content of it,\u201d Walsh told the lunch on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk to the facts, provide information that helps us make our reporting more appropriate. That\u2019s probably the key message \u2013 it\u2019s not about numbers, it\u2019s about content.\u201d<\/p>\n Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard said he had been shocked by the decision to recommend \u201cthe most environmentally destructive proposal in the history of the Kimberley\u201d for approval in the first place, describing it as \u201coutrageous\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Conservation Council of WA executive director Matt Roberts claimed the EPA should \u201cnever have recommended in favour of this project\u201d, and accused the watchdog of getting it \u201cseriously wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EPA has relied on loose and unsubstantiated claims by the proponent about managing waste water contamination risks, which leaves us fearing there are no substantial plans in place to deal with the issue, or fund clean-up efforts post event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Walsh said he had met with Environs Kimberley and traditional owners on site to discuss concerns \u2013 behind-the-scenes developments that had not reached the ears of the public.<\/p>\n But it is not just conservationists dismayed with the EPA.<\/p>\n Local governments have also hit out over decisions, including the recent green tick for a $280 million development at Smiths Beach<\/a> in Yallingup, five years after the Adrian Fini-led developers first lodged the 42-hectare proposal.<\/p>\n That project \u2013 at a site with a rich history of controversial development attempts<\/a> \u2013 includes a hotel, wellness centre, 61 holiday homes, campground, community hub and surf lifesaving club.<\/p>\n The City of Busselton has lodged a formal objection to the EPA\u2019s decision, writing a letter to the minister that \u201cdrew attention to departures by the EPA from its own objectives and functions and questioned whether the assessment had proper regard to the Statement of Environmental Principles\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn particular, the City has significant concerns that the EPA recommendation is compromised by inaccurate calculations of required vegetation clearing, insufficient consideration of visual landscape impact, inadequate attention to coastal processes, and a failure to enforce longstanding requirements to cede land for inclusion in the national park,\u201d a city statement said.<\/p>\n The green light for the Smiths Beach plans came after Swinbourn approved Saracen Properties\u2019 121-room five-star Westin resort and residential village in Gnarabup, south of Margaret River.<\/p>\n Related Article That project has also faced scrutiny and opposition from nearby residents and community groups.<\/p>\n Swinbourn said the EPA had recommended the project could proceed subject to strict conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cThose conditions were further strengthened following community appeals to the state\u2019s appeals convener, which I accepted and implemented as part of the final approval condition,\u201d he told the CEDA lunch on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the facts. Approval of the project did not simply dismiss the concerns of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Projects watchdog declines to assess just as controversial as approvals<\/p>\n In Perth, Town of Victoria Park Mayor Karen Vernon also criticised the EPA for announcing it would not assess the environmental impacts of the Cook government\u2019s much-maligned Burswood racetrack and sporting precinct<\/a> development.<\/p>\n Of the 953 submissions received in a week-long comment period, 877 supported a formal assessment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EPA\u2019s refusal to conduct any review is an abject failure to meet its own statutory purpose to protect the WA environment and prevent, control, abate and mitigate pollution and environmental harm that is clearly present in the racetrack project,\u201d Vernon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is beyond disappointing. It is clear that the EPA has bowed to government pressure about this project by prioritising speed in decision-making over environmental protection.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article She said all West Australians were entitled to feel aggrieved by an environmental watchdog that \u201cwon\u2019t do its job properly\u201d.<\/p>\n However, Swinbourn said the EPA had decided not to assess the Burswood development because environmental impacts \u2013 including construction impacts and operational noise \u2013 were assessed as \u201clocalised, intermittent and short in duration\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cClaims were made around the supposed pristine nature of the area, which ignores the fact that it was largely a tip, golf course, and now includes a freeway that hosts thousands of cars every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot liking a proposal is not in itself evidence of environmental harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Swinbourn also addressed the EPA\u2019s ongoing assessment of Alcoa\u2019s plans to strip-mine WA\u2019s Northern Jarrah Forest<\/a>, which attracted 59,000 public submissions.<\/p>\n While reluctant to get involved in discussions about the future of that assessment, Swinbourn confirmed he was waiting for expert advice from the EPA.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do continue to undertake significant monitoring work in relation to [Alcoa\u2019s] ongoing operations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the discussion around what happens with Alcoa is very unitary among people, and often there is no appreciation or discussion about the many thousands of people that will be affected if mining is stopped in that particular area.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had that responsibility; I have to face those people when those decisions are made.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Swinbourn claimed \u201cmisinformation and disinformation have become rife\u201d in the public debate about environmental issues, which he said was becoming \u201cincreasingly polarised\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the extremes, positions are sometimes driven more by base sectional interest than evidence, and when debate moves away from facts and into absolutes, it becomes much harder for governments and regulators to operate in a sensible centre where most West Australians expect decisions to be made,\u201d he told the lunch on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that does agitate me is that when groups don\u2019t get an outcome that they want they attack the EPA and the institutions and the individuals that are involved without foundations.<\/p>\n \u201c[They think] \u2018we want to undermine the institution because if we can do that, we can undermine public confidence, and then we might get the outcome that we want\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Walsh said conservation organisations and other groups used social media \u201cexceptionally well\u201d, but the EPA was focused on the facts and the science, not the politics.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernment doesn\u2019t direct us about how we do assessments. Government doesn\u2019t direct us in terms of what good outcomes would occur, and I can say very authoritatively that it actually doesn\u2019t happen in practice. It\u2019s just not there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Swinbourn was adamant WA could \u201cwalk and chew gum at the same time\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can protect ecological outcomes where they need to be protected. We can also approve sustainable economic development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo say otherwise is to ignore the reality that WA prosperity underpins our ability to balance conservation and environmental protection against responsible development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not have to choose between development and conservation. We can have both.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"EPA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/b78f6c6a1a97edc7ec103b5496afe024b938b337e29fa4cacf6d0ccc5d2d6e9f.jpeg\")
EPA Chair Darren Walsh.<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/b9aed11b4d733f5b1ccb673fd65f4c2c817a9125e16e054fbb90cdd5e7eab3c7.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/849f7f83d3b93c950f3b5b1e2a55fc4c6ee8c9b0.jpeg\")
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<\/a>Misinformation \u2018rife\u2019 in \u2018polarised\u2019 debate: minister<\/p>\n![\"Holly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3a21ade19e83efa5d41c479a92cf48548b357bb6.png\")
Holly Thompson<\/a> is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-577777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}