On 16th October Commonwealth political heavyweights, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Resources and the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery joined the Western Australian Premier and the Western Australian Minister for Defence Industry to sign a Cooperation Agreement establishing a New Defence Precinct at Henderson.
The Prime Minister described the agreement as “a game changer for WA industry,” andthe most consequential defence investment in Western Australia in nearly four decades while the Deputy Prime Minister said the announcement represents “the biggest diversification of the Western Australian economy that we have seen in decades.”
Not to be outdone, the WA Premier labeled the announcement as “momentous” saying the scale of this project is “daunting and mind-boggling.” The Premier said Henderson is a great place for industry and predicted the new defense industry will rival the resources industry.
The Western Australian Minister for Defence Industry also didn’t mince his word saying, “This agreement today will result in Western Australia being the home of the biggest naval maintenance hub in the entire southern hemisphere.”
What none of these esteemed leaders mentioned in their press conference was the environment of Cockburn Sound or what this cooperation agreement actually means for the communities’ ability to access and enjoy Cockburn Sound.
Environmental costs
While it is great to have developments that can provide jobs, these developments must not come at the expense of the environment and this announcement was just another in a long line of developments threatening to completely industrialise Cockburn Sound.
There is an old joke about how to tell when a politician is lying (spoiler alert: Their lips are moving), so rather than take their word that this announcement is the best thing since sliced bread let’s take a deeper look at the cooperation agreement WA signed in order to potentially get tens of billions of dollars of investment and what this actually means for Cockburn Sound.
A dry dock has long been proposed for Cockburn Sound, however, the new defence precinct will have at least two dry docks which will involve twice as much dredging and development than previously thought.
The location of the precinct at the current common user facilities is understandable given the proposed timeline for developments to accommodate British and American nuclear submarines would make developing a greenfield site problematic. However, this means a new common user facility will need to be built. This creates yet another development in Cockburn Sound. The agreement signed makes mention of the State and Commonwealth working together on delivering a new common user facility no less than four times so there is no doubt this will happen.
What also gets a mention numerous times is Westport with the State and Commonwealth agreeing to work together to “deliver land and sea works across the Western Trade Coast to enable Commonwealth programs, Westport, and other priority projects.”
To ensure these developments happen Western Australia has agreed to “facilitate relevant State approvals associated with the establishment of the Defence Precinct, the implementation of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pathway, and enabling infrastructure, activities and initiatives in Western Australia.”
Agreeing to facilitate State approvals brings into question the integrity of our State-based assessment processors and the independence of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency. It should be noted the Commonwealth made no such commitments to “facilitate” approvals.
While the cooperation agreement makes multiple reference to developing the new defence precinct, building a replacement common user facility, progressing Westport and other developments along the Western Trade Coast, the only mention of the environment in this agreement was in relation to sharing information on environmental modelling and dredging works.
Mind-boggling
So, to recap, this mind-boggling investment that will supposedly transform our economy will also create a gateway for numerous other developments that will continue the increasing industralisation of Cockburn Sound that threatens to derail its environment’s slow recovery. And more developments on this scale will inevitably see the community’s access to our aquatic playground once again restricted.
There remains very little details about the timeline and actual scope of deliverables in this announcement. As politicians have a habit of doing you-know-what in your pocket and telling you it’s raining, there is a good prospect the proposed developments will never be built to the scale or timeline imagined. However, this is cold comfort when the State and Commonwealth seem hell bent on turning Cockburn Sound into an industrial wasteland. Only time will tell whether the State cares more about the environment of Cockburn Sound than the Commonwealth’s dollars.
