This week, his approval faced two opponents in Federal Court.<\/p>\n
Claims of ‘apprehended bias’<\/p>\n
The proceedings in Melbourne heard simultaneous challenges from the Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).<\/p>\n
Their legal grounds thrust at the heart of Mr Watt’s decision and the way he approached the 40-year extension.<\/p>\n
![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b9a8f487b7254b3e81aa081eb5665743.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Lawyers for Murray Watt defended his decision in Federal Court. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n
ACF barrister Angus Scott KC told the court an “extraordinary amount of engagement” between Mr Watt’s staff and Woodside ensured the company received a workable solution.<\/p>\n
He claimed a reasonable observer could interpret the dialogue \u2014 revealed in nearly 200 texts and emails traded by the minister’s office and the oil and gas giant \u2014 as pre-judgement.<\/p>\n
Justice Catherine Button later described ACF’s suggestion as one of a “chumminess or cosiness between the department and Woodside”.<\/p>\n
In one text put before the court in written submissions, a government official opened a communication channel with a senior Woodside executive about “environmental law reform”.<\/p>\n
“Let’s wait till [the] current matter is cleared and then we’ll move onto the next thing!” the recipient wrote back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another sent by a Woodside representative celebrated the end of negotiations with their opposite number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Thanks Rachel! We got there!” they said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/51c114694bdd9bf323e08b59e611e214.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
ACF CEO and former federal Greens leader Adam Bandt rallied demonstrators outside the Federal Court. (Supplied: ACF)<\/p>\n
FARA said Mr Watt’s “closed mind” meant he “cherry-picked” the North West Shelf’s economic advantages, such as jobs, and neglected counterarguments.<\/p>\n
Barrister Sashi Maharaj KC even contended he “copy and pasted” a summary of benefits provided by Woodside consultants into his published reasons.<\/p>\n
Minister says he defied Woodside<\/p>\n
Mr Watt ultimately attached 48 conditions to the approval, having amended them after Woodside warned his initial proposal would “amount to a refusal”.<\/p>\n
Woodside barrister Damian Clothier KC said the concessions demonstrated the strength of Woodside’s persuasion rather than any bias by the minister, who did not \u2014 in any case \u2014 need to remain “neutral”.<\/p>\n
The meaning behind Murujuga’s petroglyphs<\/a><\/p>\n Ahead of UNESCO releasing its final assessment of the area’s world-heritage potential, the Burrup’s traditional owners tell the stories behind the landmark rock art.<\/p>\n Representing the minister, Stephen Lloyd SC went further, stating it was unlikely Mr Watt was aware of “innocuous” messages sent by his juniors.<\/p>\n He said Mr Watt plainly disagreed with the energy giant<\/a> on whether industrial emissions were damaging thousands of sacred Indigenous rock carvings in the nearby Murujuga World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n “Woodside’s position was that air emissions don’t have any impact on the petroglyphs, and the minister didn’t accept that \u2014 he said that they did,” said Mr Lloyd.<\/p>\n “The minister found impacts that Woodside denied, and proposed conditions to mitigate those impacts.”Browse proposal looms large<\/p>\n Another project off WA’s Kimberley region cast a long shadow over the court battle: Woodside’s $30 billion proposed expansion into the Browse basin<\/a>, Australia’s largest undeveloped gas reserve.<\/p>\n Mr Scott said the minister was wrong to factor plans for Browse into his North West Shelf decision, given the former is subject to a separate and ongoing approval process.<\/p>\n Woodside hopes to process the gas it would draw from the reserve \u2014 enough to power 800,000 homes every year \u2014 using its main North West Shelf plant near Karratha.<\/p>\n A company spokesperson said the project would contribute to the region’s economic prosperity and energy security while managing environmental concerns.<\/p>\n “Stakeholder feedback has helped shape the project from reducing the infrastructure footprint<\/a> around environmentally sensitive areas like Scott Reef, to designing additional safeguards to help protect marine life,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Protesters wore colourful costumes and held up signs highlighting Browse’s proximity to the Scott Reef. (Supplied: ACF)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a9a560bfa4ae78f06563ff72b0a143d5.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n