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The North West Shelf proposal in particular has been opposed over concerns about the impact of emissions on the Murujuga rock art gallery, which contains more than 1 million ancient petroglyphs carved onto rock faces.
A rock art monitoring report released last month that suggested current industrial emissions were not impacting the rock art has not dissuaded opponents, who question government interpretation of the data.
The UNESCO World Heritage Council looks set to reject a Commonwealth bid to place Murujuga on the World Heritage list over these concerns.
The conditions Watt placed on Woodside relate to these emissions but Woodside must formally respond to them before they are made public.
Protesters on Friday, including members of groups such as the Conservation Council of WA, on Friday demanded the government reject both Browse and the North West Shelf extension.
Watt is in France, attending the UN’s Ocean Conference, but on Thursday said it was not uncommon for proponents in this situation to take a bit longer in responding to conditions.
“I can’t predict exactly when it will be that Woodside will provide those comments,” he told ABC Radio.
“Once I receive them, I’ll consider them and [decide whether] to approve the project, and if so, with what conditions, and I’ll do that as quickly as I can.
“There have been constructive discussions under way between Woodside and my department since I handed down that proposed decision, but what we want to do is make sure that we can secure jobs and secure industry, but also not at the expense of our environment.”
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