EPA Warnings and a Labor Break: Pressure Mounts on Kimberley Fracking

More than 8,000 public appeals have been lodged against Black Mountain Energy's Valhalla fracking project in Western Australia's Kimberley — and now a federal Labor MP has broken ranks to oppose it outright.

Josh Wilson, the Member for Fremantle, has become the first WA-based federal Labor member to formally oppose fracking in the Kimberley. In a letter dated 21 October 2026, he warned the industry could threaten the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River, water resources and First Nations rights and culture.

The Valhalla project proposes drilling and fracking up to 20 exploration and appraisal wells in the Kimberley. It received a conditional recommendation for approval from the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in January 2026 — a decision that triggered the 8,000-plus appeals.

What did the MP actually say?

Wilson's language is blunt for a government backbencher.

"I share the sharp concern of many in our community when it comes to the significant risks that come with fracking in general," Wilson wrote to a constituent. "I am particularly concerned about fracking in the Kimberley, with the potential to impact on the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River."

He argues the existing state moratorium — which already prevents fracking across 98 per cent of WA — should be extended to cover the Kimberley.

"Clearly the Kimberley is the missing piece in terms of protecting the West Australian environment, water systems, and First Nations rights/culture from this kind of intrusive and unnecessary method," he said.

Wilson also backs a November 2025 WA Labor State Conference resolution calling for the moratorium's extension to the region.

How strong is the community opposition?

An October rally at WA Parliament House drew more than 1,000 people, including Traditional Owners from across the Kimberley, demanding Premier Roger Cook ban fracking outright.

Environs Kimberley executive director Martin Pritchard said protests would continue. "The thousand people who turned up at Parliament showed that the community won't back down — nothing less than a rejection of the Valhalla project and a ban on fracking will do," he said.

Pat Riley, a Nyikina woman from Pandanus Park, said downstream communities fear contamination. "We don't want to see fracking in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment. Our community is at the end of the river and any pollution from fracking upstream will affect us. We want a clean, healthy river," she said.

Lock the Gate WA coordinator Simone van Hattem said the opposition was "becoming impossible for Labor to ignore."

What do the revealed EPA documents show about Browse?

Separately, documents made public in October reveal the WA EPA's preliminary view in February 2024 was that Woodside Energy's Browse gas project should be rejected over potential damage to Scott Reef and Rowley Shoals.

A draft letter prepared in December 2023, sent by then-EPA chairman Matthew Tonts, warned: "The EPA does not consider the measures you have proposed are proportionate to the risk of serious or irreversible harm to Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals and the surrounding marine environments from unplanned hydrocarbon release and other cumulative and holistic impacts."

The EPA warned oil spill consequences could be "significant, serious and irreversible," with modelling scenarios ranging up to "catastrophic." Advice from 2023 cautioned that a leaking well lasting just 13 days could have irreversible consequences for Scott Reef — after Woodside claimed a capping stack could stop a leak within 16 days. The documents also identify Sandy Islet as critical nesting habitat for approximately 1,000 genetically distinct endangered green turtles.

A Woodside spokesperson said the documents "do not reflect the proposal currently before regulators or the substantial changes made since that time." The company said its amended proposal relocates drilling more than 20 kilometres from Sandy Islet and introduces technology to reduce well-control risks, with updated 2024 modelling estimating project-attributable subsidence at Sandy Islet of 1.1 to 3.8 millimetres over 40 years.

In August 2025, the EPA accepted the amendments for assessment but stressed they "don't change the previously identified key environmental factors." Browse has not received final environmental approval.

The appeals process against Valhalla and Browse's pending federal environmental decision now determine what happens next in the Kimberley.