Recent Updates

• The Environment Minister has given provisional approval to extend the life of Woodside’s North West Shelf processing plant to 2070. The extension paves the way for the Browse Basin project (see below) and other gas projects in the region. Despite this link, the Minister dismissed a reconsideration request to include the NWS extension as part of the broader Browse Basin proposal
• UNESCO has called for greater protection from industrial pollution before it will consider listing Murujuga on the World Heritage List. Traditional owners have been waiting since 2022 for a decision on their application for protection of the Murujuga rock art under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.  Mardathoonera woman, Raelene Cooper, has applied for a court order requiring Minister Watt to determine that application before ruling on the North West Shelf expansion.  
• Woodside has amended its Browse to North West Shelf project proposal, reducing the overall footprint and increasing rehabilitation measures. Opponents say that the amendments make little difference to the damaging impacts of the project on the climate and on Scott Reef.   
• Parents for Climate Action secured a court settlement in its greenwashing case against Energy Australia (see Greenwashing).
• Traditional owners have signed the Roper River Declaration, calling for a Ropa Woda Governance Council to be included in all future water decisions, and a ban on new water extraction licences in the Roper catchment – join the AEGN NT Field Trip to hear more from Ropa Woda elders
• The Queensland government has released new shark management guidelines providing for more shark nets, drumlines, and use of drones
• The NSW parliament is debating the Shooters Party’s Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill 2025 to establish a ‘Conservation Hunting Authority’, open up crown land for recreational shooting, and require recreational shooting to be considered in decisions about conservation management.  The Invasive Species Council has strongly opposed the Bill as “undermining science-based conservation”.  
• The ACT government has released a draft revised School Sponsorship Policy, proposing to include fossil fuel companies in the list of prohibited sponsors
• The Queensland government has ordered a review of its 75% by 2035 emissions reduction target and the law setting its renewable energy target
• After months of consultation, the Victorian Department of Environment has released its Handbook for the development of renewable energy in Victoria, outlining measures to manage the impact of renewable energy projects on biodiversity
• The Queensland government has cut funding to the EDO, despite earlier commitments to continue funding