Roger Cook: WA to keep funding Environmental Defenders Office despite dressing down in Barossa case
Roger Cook, Premier of Western Australia, has acknowledged the prevalence of environmental lawfare in disrupting new resources ventures, but has announced that the government will not immediately withdraw funding for the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO). This comes after a solicitor working for the EDO was heavily criticized by a Federal Court judge for her conduct in a failed challenge against Santos’ $5.8 billion Barossa gas project.
The case revolved around claims that the proposed Barossa pipeline, located off the coast of the Northern Territory’s Tiwi Islands, intersected with the underwater Crocodile Man songline. The EDO, representing a small group of traditional owners, ran the litigation. However, Justice Natalie Charlesworth dismissed the case on the grounds that the lawyer, Alina Leikin, had misrepresented the views of the Tiwi Islanders, specifically regarding the creation of a map illustrating the path of an ancestral rainbow serpent and its intersection with the pipeline.
Despite the criticism and the outcome of the Barossa case, Premier Cook stated that the government will continue to provide funding to the EDO. However, he emphasized that funding arrangements for all organizations receiving support from the government will be regularly reviewed. Cook believes that funding the EDO ensures that all voices are heard throughout complex and expensive processes. He also noted that the EDO should take the opportunity to review their strategies and approach based on the Barossa case.
The EDO, which also currently has an ongoing challenge to Woodside’s Scarborough expansion, is set to receive another $150,000 in funding from the WA Government over the next two years. The Albanese Government has also resumed Commonwealth funding for the EDO since coming into office in 2022.
Premier Cook’s announcement comes after accusations were made in December that activists were attempting to divide Indigenous groups to pursue lawsuits against major resources projects. When asked if the EDO’s approach to the Barossa case justified his comments, Cook stated that environmental lawfare is a modern reality for complex projects and should be considered within the regulatory regimes overseeing project developments. However, he refrained from making a judgment call on whether the EDO’s actions were merely attempts to delay and disrupt carbon-emitting projects.
The Albanese Government has recently released a discussion paper aimed at establishing clear and unambiguous new consultation rules for offshore gas developments to resolve the legal challenges that have stalled projects and posed risks to investment.
With the government’s decision to continue funding the EDO, despite the criticism it has faced, the controversy surrounding the organization’s approach to challenging major resources projects and the broader issue of environmental lawfare remains ongoing.
