Maddie McShane, Energy & Climate Campaigner, Environment Tasmania, said: “This gas expansion isn’t just a threat to Western Australia’s environment- it’s a national climate risk. The emissions will affect all of us, from WA to Tasmania. Climate change doesn’t stop at state borders, and neither should our response.”

Environment Tasmania strongly opposes the proposed extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project from 2030 to 2070; a move that would unleash a “carbon bomb” and derail Australia’s climate commitments. The proposal is now in the hands of Australia’s new Environment Minister, Murray Watt.

This project would emit over 3 billion tonnes of carbon, further entrenching the climate crisis. It forms part of Woodside’s Burrup Hub, the most polluting new fossil fuel proposal in the Southern Hemisphere- set to generate 13 times Australia's annual emissions over its lifetime.

We urge Minister Watt to reject this project and steer Australia toward a clean energy future. This is a chance to show climate leadership - not lock in decades of pollution.

Unfortunately, Australia’s environment laws are not fit for purpose. Australia’s primary piece of environmental legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999,  has been called “abysmal failure” by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission head Graeme Samuel, and fails to incorporate climate impacts and adequately protect nature. After over a decade of promised reform, strong climate-integrated environmental laws remain undelivered.

Current laws allow companies like Woodside to rely on flawed offsets and ignore emissions from gas burned overseas. We urgently need federal laws that properly account for climate impacts and hold decision-makers to meaningful standards of environmental integrity.

In Tasmania, we take pride in our renewable legacy, but we cannot rest on past achievements. We must lead by example, pushing for national reforms that bring climate to the forefront of environmental decisions. With our track record and community values, we’re well positioned to drive this shift- for our state, and the planet. 

This expansion has triggered protests across the country - including in Hobart.

Many groups, including the Bob Brown Foundation, Environment Tasmania, Tasmanian Climate Collective, and Clarence Climate Action rallied outside the office of Federal Member for Franklin and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins. As Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Collins has a clear responsibility to help safeguard the environment, yet she has remained silent on the project.

Calls for no new gas were clear, with McShane stating: “This project puts Australia’s climate future at risk. We urge the federal environment minister to stand up for a safe, renewably powered future- and call on our local representatives to speak out.”