MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe —Premier) [11.15 am]: I move —

That the bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of the bill is to ratify and authorise the implementation of the Browse (Land) Agreement, scheduled to the bill, in relation to the establishment of the Browse liquefied natural gas precinct near James Price Point in the Kimberley. The agreement is between the state, the Goolarabooloo Jabirr Jabirr people, whose registered native title claim includes the area of the precinct, and the Kimberley Land Council. It was executed on 30 June 2011, along with the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas Precinct Project Agreement and the Browse Liquefied Natural Gas Regional Benefits Agreement. Together they form one of the most significant native title agreements ever reached in Australia. The ratification of this agreement by the state Parliament is also of historical significance. It is the first time that Parliament is being asked to ratify an agreement between the state and Indigenous Western Australians.

As with other state agreements, each of the provisions of the Browse (Land) Agreement, once ratified, will operate and take effect according to its terms, notwithstanding any other act or law. The rights and obligations of the agreement are intended to bind the parties and successive governments for the life of the agreement.

The primary purposes of the agreement are to limit the use of the precinct; limit further LNG development on the Kimberley coastline; require the state to remediate and rehabilitate most of the precinct land at the end of precinct life; and provide for the grant of certain land within the precinct to the native title party at the end of precinct life. The agreement limits the use of the precinct to the receipt, pre-treatment and processing of petroleum into LNG and other products; and the storage, loading, and transporting of LNG and other associated activities. It does not permit the precinct to be used for downstream processing or general industrial use. The agreement also limits further LNG development elsewhere on the Kimberley coastline. In December 2007, traditional owners and environmental groups set out the conditions on which they would support LNG development in the Kimberley in a "Joint Position Statement on Kimberley Liquefied Natural Gas Development". The government has done everything possible to satisfy the requirements of this joint position statement. One of the key requirements for that support was —

Recognising key environmental groups’ right to call for a single hub, while ensuring that Government and commercial proponents provide Kimberley Traditional Owners (through the KLC) with sufficient information regarding any proposed LNG-related development, including a single hub, as would enable them to give their considered assessment and advice regarding development options and impacts and, if they deem it appropriate, Traditional Owners’ informed consent to the development.

The Browse (Land) Agreement limits LNG processing to a single site and the consent of the traditional owners was obtained through the execution of the Browse LNG Precinct Project Agreement. The state is required to remediate and rehabilitate most of the LNG precinct land at the end of precinct life. To inform the extent of remediation, a baseline report is required to be prepared in consultation with the traditional owners, prior to the commencement of operations. The report identifies the current uses, any existing facilities, the environmental condition and the presence of any known or suspected contamination on the precinct.

Once a decision has been made to close the precinct, the agreement imposes a requirement for the parties to prepare a remediation and rehabilitation works management plan to guide the remediation and rehabilitation work. Remediation and rehabilitation works are to be carried out in accordance with the management plan and are designed to remediate and rehabilitate the precinct to a condition that is consistent with applicable legislation, policy and relevant standards at the time the works are carried out having regard to the condition of the precinct as determined in the LNG precinct baseline report and having regard to the use of the precinct prior to the commencement of the remediation and rehabilitation works. There is a requirement for the state to prepare an environmental status report when it considers that remediation and rehabilitation works are complete. The native title party will be given an opportunity to provide comments on the report for the state’s consideration. The obligation is discharged when the native title party notifies the state that remediation and rehabilitation works have been completed, or an independent expert so determines, in the event of a dispute.

Once the precinct is closed, the state is obliged to grant the industrial precinct, the third party contractors’ site and the workers’ accommodation site land to the native title party. The port land will also be granted to the native title party at that time. However, if the state decides that the port is to operate as a port beyond the end of the life of the precinct, the native title party will be required to lease the land back to the state at commercial rates. The state and the native title party are required to consult and decide on the form of title or interest in the land that is to be granted. Unless nominated otherwise, the precinct land and port land will be transferred to the native title party’s administrative body to hold on trust.

The state government is committed to the establishment of the Browse LNG precinct to ensure that Browse Basin natural gas and other petroleum can be processed in the Kimberley. In doing so, the state government’s objectives are: to provide economic benefits for the Kimberley region; to provide a significant benefit to the traditional owners and other Indigenous people in the Kimberley; to ensure that the precinct development is environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable; and to avoid multiple LNG development sites on the Kimberley coastline. Ratification of the agreement as proposed will, together with the Browse LNG precinct native title agreements, contribute significantly towards the achievement of these objectives. I commend the bill to the house.