Govt to set up 'independent' inquiry into gas explosion
Posted
Updated
Norman Moore says another inquiry into the Varanus Island gas explosion will be held as soon as possible.
The Westen Australian Government says it will conduct a third, independent, inquiry into an explosion at Apache Energy's gas processing plant on Varanus Island.
The explosion on June 3 cut the state's gas supply by one third.
A report tabled yesterday in Federal Parliament, which examined the former Labor government's response to the crisis, has been labelled weak by one group affected by the crisis, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA).
It was the second report into the explosion.
A report compiled by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority revealed Apache Energy had failed to prevent the corrosion of the pipe before the explosion.
The Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Norman Moore, says an independent inquiry examining the role of the regulators will be held as soon as possible.
"We have been awaiting the Senate report to decide whether we will go further in our inquiry," he said.
"As soon as I have had a chance to digest the Senate report we will then decide on any terms of reference that might cover that aspect of a future inquiry."
The Executive Director of the AHA, Bradley Woods, says the report's recommendations, which include a stakeholder forum to discuss ways to deal with similar crises, are weak.
"I think that the recommendations are not strong enough," he said.
"I think that the report inquiry is far too political and we can see that both with the dissenting report and the report of the main committee, it seems to fall down to party lines.
"I think businesses in Western Australia, residents in Western Australia deserve better than that."
But Trevor Lovelle from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry hopes it will result in the drafting of a state energy plan.
"We are very supportive of the government convening a stakeholder group and that is to establish a body that's ready to respond to these sorts of [incidents]," he said.
"We also believe that governments should in fact analyse the legislative framework. We think that's also a useful step."
Litigation warning
Australia's largest litigation fund, IMF, is warning against companies suing for damages over the Varanus Island gas explosion, saying most have little chance of succeeding in court.
A number of businesses have flagged legal action after a report by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority found Apache Energy failed to properly maintain the pipe which caused the explosion.
Hugh McLernon from I-M-F says a previous High Court ruling means companies are unlikely to succeed in court unless they can prove they suffered property damage.
"One of the things you have to be careful with in litigation is that you don't throw good money after bad," he said.
"You have to do a very careful risk analysis to determine if the money you are going to spend and risk on litigation is worth the potential return."
Search for news
ABC News Online takes a look at the big stories from 2008.
