A reef, a gas giant and a crossroads for Labor. That’s the story unfolding off the coast of Western Australia — and it deserves more than a mention between songs.
Scott Reef is around 15 million years old, and it’s a wild, thriving, pristine marine environment. It’s home to thousands of animals, including endangered pygmy blue whales and vulnerable green turtles, which rely on the reef for feeding and breeding. It’s part of the extraordinary Kimberley — and gas giant Woodside and Labor are threatening its survival.
That’s where artists like Close Counters, Milo Hartill and Clash of the Keys come in. To help build a people-powered movement which can stop Woodside in its tracks, they’re bringing more than just a set list to our two Save Scott Reef events during October. They’re bringing energy, imagination and a reminder that climate action can be joyful, and a welcoming way to find your people and build community.
There’s a lot to come together for. Woodside wants to drill for gas beneath the reef as part of its Browse project. They themselves have said an oil spill could be “catastrophic” for Scott Reef and the species that depend on it. And that’s before we get to the climate impact: Browse could release around 1.6 billion tonnes of climate pollution — which is about four times Australia’s annual emissions.
That gas won’t magically become climate-friendly once it’s shipped overseas. No matter where Aussie gas gets burned, it adds to global warming, coral bleaching, heatwaves, and worsening and more frequent floods and bushfires. Meanwhile, we’re already feeling the squeeze from rising living costs, expensive or out-of-reach insurance and extreme weather.
So, why are we talking about it now? Because the federal Labor government has a choice: protect Scott Reef or give Browse the green light to destroy it. It can’t do both. And the profits from this project would flow to a major international fossil fuel corporation, while the environmental costs are left for us to deal with.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) works to protect the natural places and wildlife that make Australia home, keeps us breathing clean air and drinking clean water. That means campaigning for a good life for all: a safe climate, a renewable-powered Australia, food systems that are good for people and nature, and a future without nuclear power. These goals aren’t separate from saving Scott Reef: they’re part of the same big idea — that people, nature and a livable climate should come before pollution and corporate profit.
And there’s good reason to back the clean-energy alternative. More than half the power on Australia’s main electricity grid now comes from renewables. The green energy revolution is here! We can build on it, creating a future powered by clean energy instead of opening the door to more destructive and polluting gas projects.
Supporting climate action shouldn’t feel like hard work. We wanted to create something people would be excited to come to: a great night out, with brilliant music, good people and a cause worth showing up for. The Save Scott Reef events bring the urgency of the campaign into a space for connection, creativity and a proper boogie.
You don’t have to be an expert to care about the future. You can start by turning up to one of the three Save Scott Reef events, listening, dancing and taking one small action.
Save Scott Reef events near you:
Melbourne | Close Counters @ Brunswick Ballroom | 14 Oct
Brisbane | Clash of the Keys @ The Brightside Outdoors | 28 Oct
So come along, bring a mate, and add your voice to the chorus. Then sign the petition asking Labor to protect Scott Reef and stop Woodside’s Browse project.
Save Scott Reef from Big Gas drilling. Protect the Kimberley. Let’s make some noise!
Adam Bandt is the former leader of the Australian Greens. He’s now the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Conservation Foundation. He aims to strengthen the ACF by building membership and creating a “people power movement as big as the one that stopped the Franklin Dam.”
