Western Australian Supreme Court rules James Price Point gas plant approval "illegal"

Western Australia's (WA) Chief Justice Wayne Martin has ruled that the government's environmental approval for the controversial multi-billion dollar gas hub in the state's Kimberley region was illegal, local media reported on Monday. The Western Australian Supreme Court found the WA Environment Minister and the WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had acted illegally in the assessment and the approval. The Chief Justice ruled that three of the Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) decisions to grant approval to the project at James Price Point, north of Broome, in WA, were unlawful and invalid. He said EPA chairman Paul Vogel should not have made a sole decision on the project. "The minister's statement that the Browse LNG Precinct proposal could be implemented subject to conditions was not a valid exercise of the powers conferred upon the minister," the judgment said. Vogel made the sole decision to allow the project to go ahead after four out of five EPA member declared conflicts of interest. In 2012, the Wilderness Society took legal action with traditional owner Richard Hunter against the EPA and the Environment Minister over the approvals for the gas hub. The Wilderness Society WA Campaign manager Peter Robertson says the James Price Point gas pipe dream is now dead and buried. "Premier Colin Barnett must face facts, drop this unhealthy obsession and quit the compulsory acquisition process," Robertson said in a statement.