EPA defends its decision-making

A planned $100 million coalmine in Western Australia’s Margaret River premium wine region would have more impact on its social surrounds than Woodside’s proposed $30 billion gas hub near the tourist town of Broome, according to the state’s environment watchdog. Environmental Protection Authority chairman Paul Vogel told The Australian Financial Review that the absence of a direct environmental link between Woodside’s Browse Basin gas hub and Broome meant it could not include social aspects in its assessment of the gas project, unlike the case for the coalmine.