Threatened: whales off Australia
Barnett 'no risk to whales from LNG hub'
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett claims whales will not be harmed by the development of a liquefied natural gas hub in the Kimberley region in the state’s far north.
The James Price Point site near Broome is the preferred location for Woodside’s Browse LNG plant.
However the LNG hub looks set to come under increasing pressure from green groups following aerial surveys showing large numbers of whales close to the site.
Conservationist Richard Costin, who organised the aerial survey, said in two hours about 160 whales were spotted.
Costin called on Barnett and Environmental Minister Peter Garrett to examine the potential impact of the Browse basin gas project carefully.
“They need to actually do a lot more comprehensive studies in the area,” Costin told ABC Radio today reported AAP.
He added the companies should consider processing the gas offshore and that the best option for developing the gas is to move to floating LNG technology.
Barnett said the location of the project at James Price Point was final.
"On environmental grounds, on isolation from communities, on offshore and onshore geological and technical conditions, it's clearly the best location," he said.
Whales could be seen off many other industrial sites and no harm had come to them.
"They go up and down the coast every year," Barnett said .
"We will ensure that they are not in any way adversely impacted by the development."