Proponents say development won’t harm world heritage ecosystem, but a campaign led by Tim Winton is sounding the alarm
A campaign fronted by the author Tim Winton and backed by environmentalists and ecotourism operators is attempting to stop a pipeline factory for the oil and gas industry proposed for Exmouth Gulf, next door to Western Australia’s world heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.
They say the proposal by the engineering company Subsea 7 would lead to 10km steel pipe bundles containing gas and communication lines being transported through the gulf to offshore gas fields, putting at risk coral beds and affecting hundreds of species in what is recognised as a nursery and foraging area for the marine life found on the reef. The vast gulf – 2,600 sq km – is virtually undeveloped and home to dugongs, manta rays, calving whales and extensive mangroves used by many species for breeding.
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