GORGON PROJECT —
BARROW ISLAND — CONSERVATION
1189. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to page 4 of ministerial
statement 800 and the paragraph under the heading ''DEC Funding'',
which outlines the responsibilities of the Gorgon project for the conservation
of Barrow Island.
(1) How many
department staff are currently working on Barrow Island for the purposes of
independent audit and monitoring, as per ministerial statement 800?
(2) If the answer
to (1) is not ''two'', why is this the case?
(3) Are the
services and facilities for the staff referred to in (1) still operational to
an acceptable standard?
(4) Have the
Gorgon joint venture partners failed to uphold their obligations set out in
ministerial statement 800 for the current year or any preceding years?
(5) At any point since
the ministerial statement, has the department failed to maintain two staff
members on the island; and, if so, when did these instances occur?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I was going to say that the following information
has been provided by me.
Hon Simon O'Brien: Is
it reliable?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON: I hope
so.
Noting that this question was first
asked on 18 September 2019, this information is current as of that date.
(1) To ensure continuity
of staffing, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
employs four officers to perform this function on Barrow Island. Two staff
members operate on a two weeks on, two weeks off fly in, fly out roster.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Yes, they are.
(4) Apart from
some administrative or procedural noncompliances, which have now all been
resolved, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd has fulfilled its obligations under
ministerial statement 800.
(5) On occasion,
staff are required to depart the island for the purposes of attendance at
strategic meetings, mandatory and essential
training and development and periods of leave, as well as unplanned and
unforeseen cases of staff and family-related illness.