New WA port plan faces opposition

A PROPOSAL to create a new port facility suitable for cruise shipping in Exmouth, Western Australia faced protests on the weekend (pictured), with environmentalists fearing it could destroy the “jewel in the crown” of WA’s tourism industry.

Tour operators and residents of Exmouth are sounding the alarm on the proposal, which would see the dredging of Qualing Beach to build the deep water port.

Gascoyne Gateway is proposing to privately fund, build & operate the new single jetty deep-water facility, and has earmarked 50 hectares of land for the proposal.

It also plans to acquire land elsewhere in Exmouth to build a solar farm and storage area to help make it a “green port”.

The plan comes with the support of the Tourism Council of WA, but it is yet to receive the green light from the state’s Environmental Protection Authority, which is currently investigating the impact of the proposed development on the Exmouth Gulf, with findings to be handed down by Jun next year.

Protestors said there was a strong sentiment in Exmouth that industrialisation threatens the area’s natural attractions, citing the importance of the nearby Ningaloo Reef to whales and dugongs, which use the coast as a migration path and nursery.

They also claimed Gascoyne Gateway was sheltering behind claims of carbon neutrality to “greenwash” the proposal.

Gascoyne Gateway CEO Michael Edwards said the multi-user jetty facility would help diversify the local economy and bring hundreds of jobs to the region.

He said the proposal “basically brings together 20 years of ambition for the local community”.