Shire not ready to back ‘premature’ land licence for proponents of deepwater port off Exmouth coast

It would be “premature” to back the development of a deepwater port off the Gascoyne coast before community concerns about the environmental impact of the proposal are addressed, says Shire of Exmouth president Darlene Allston. Operated by Gascoyne Gateway, the marine facility is a single-jetty deepwater port capable of servicing vessels from the navy, cruise ships and private yachts in the Exmouth Gulf. The port would run on renewable energy and be the first in the country to incorporate environmental regeneration initiatives into its initial planning. An August Environmental Protection Agency report found the Exmouth Gulf was being put under “increasing pressure” from human activity, with the State Government subsequently announcing it would establish a marine park to protect the eastern and southern parts of the gulf. The State Government recently asked the Shire to reveal its position on the development before it issues a licence for Gascoyne Gateway to use the crown land within the gulf. It is understood the licence would give Gascoyne Gateway legal access to the site and would allow for further environmental, geological, and cultural heritage studies to be conducted before any development begins. Several residents spoke to the State’s request at the council’s May meeting, with one woman saying a community survey revealed 61 per cent of respondents were opposed to the deepwater port. Another resident said it would be “premature” for a licence to be issued to Gascoyne Gateway given the State had committed to environmental protection works in the gulf. The Shire executive moved for the council to tell the State Government it had no objections to the issuing of the lease, but this motion was defeated. Instead, it was agreed that the council advise it would consider the matter at a time when a formal request to do so is received. Cr Allston said the result “echoes the voice of our community”. “Our community deserves the right to have the Qualing Pool A-class reserve area defined, and the Exmouth Gulf Marine Reserve established before council considers any future access or use of the sites for which they hold a management order,” she said. “Gathering information in regards to a proposed project, located so close to an A-class reserve prior to the boundaries being established is premature and thoughtless. “It could not only potentially harm our unique environment, but as we have seen tonight is causing undue stress not only to our community members but to many local volunteer organisations.” According to Gascoyne Gateway, the location of the proposed project was selected to reduce the impact on the environment. Chief executive Michael Edwards said the decision by council was “very confusing”. “The Environmental Protection Authority has set the highest possible level of assessment for our project, but these councillors do not want to give us access to the land so that we can collect the environmental data we need to go through the EPA process,” he said. “The small number of opponents of our project say we will harm the environment, but they appear to have no confidence that a scientific assessment of their claims will prove them to be correct. “Our very strong view is that the EPA should be allowed to do its job, and that we should be able to collect the scientific data we need to enable them to do so.”