A social impact perspective on the Browse LNG Precinct strategic assessment in Western Australia

The Western Australian (WA) Government wants to construct a large liquid natural gas processing precinct in the remote Kimberley region. The WA and Australian federal governments jointly conducted a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the Browse Precinct proposal. This article examines how the Browse SEA process affected the consideration of alternative development options and the management of social impacts. Resource development proposals often stimulate debate about the best means to achieve sustainable development outcomes and an SEA can provide a public space in which such social choices can be explored. However, the Browse SEA provided no such opportunity and this may have contributed to the severity of collateral social impacts. WA and federal SEA processes result in legally binding conditions of approval that can be applied to actions (e.g. projects) arising from a strategic proposal. This is a significant benefit to project proponents but can leave affected communities with high levels of uncertainty regarding their futures. This uncertainty is heightened by the fact that the SEA approval process cannot accommodate a broad range of social impacts.