WA deserves decision on Woodside, not awkward air kisses: Cash

After the Dutton and Albanese political circuses left town yesterday, an eerie calm has descended over WA, with local politicians tasked with spruiking their party messages this morning.

The Liberals had some east coast firepower with them in Scarborough this morning, where Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley joined Curtin candidate Tom White and WA Senator Michaelia Cash to announce $1.5 million for safety enhancements at the foreshore.

Further south in Tangney, Labor MP Sam Lim was joined by ministers Madeleine King, Patrick Gorman and Matt Keogh in his electorate of Tangney to announce $1.5 million to fund upgrades to the Bull Creek Bombers’ football club facilities.

Cash used the awkward “air kiss” between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek at the Labor campaign launch in Perth yesterday to launch an attack on delays to a decision on Woodside’s North West Shelf 50-year extension request.

“What we were looking for here in Western Australia was a joint press conference where they could announce their decision on the North West shelf project,” she said.

“The most you got was an incredibly awkward air kiss. Well, guess what, that does not serve the people of Western Australia well.”

Cash has accused the Albanese government of delaying the decision until after the election to avoid upsetting east coast inner-city voters.

Last month WAtoday revealed the latest delay was decided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water bureaucrats to give it time to assess requests by Greenpeace and the Conservation Council of WA to fold more Woodside projects into the decision.

Cash said she was not accepting excuses from Albanese about thorough investigations or timelines needing to be extended.

“No, the country is depending on this,” she said.

Resources Minister King said the Coalition’s statements put any potential approval of the project in legal jeopardy.

“This is orderly decision-making. Nothing more, nothing less,” she said.

“We would agree that the approvals process has to be improved, and that’s exactly what we’ve been trying to do, and Minister Plibersek has been trying to do for the last three years.”