The Australian federal government's planned marine reserve network off Western Australia would "severely curtail" the oil and gas industry, state Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore said Thursday.
The proposed final marine reserves network was a "dog's breakfast" and would impinge on current and future petroleum exploration and production activities off Western Australia, Moore said. "The proposal could impact on the security of domestic [gas] and LNG export energy supplies," he added.
Federal environment minister Tony Burke earlier in the day unveiled a blueprint for what would be the world's largest network of marine reserves around Australia's coast. The network has been expanded from 27 to 60 marine reserves, taking its overall size to 3.1 million sq km (1.2 million sq miles), covering more than a third of Commonwealth waters.
The proposed reserves are now subject to a final 60-day consultation period, after which they are expected to be proclaimed under national environmental law before the end of 2012.
