Brown backs Sea Shepherd WA campaign

Former Greens senator Bob Brown has traded in his political hat for a pair of sea legs by joining the crew of the Sea Shepherd for an anti-gas hub campaign.
The former federal leader of the Greens will board one of the environmental group's ships as it sets sail for the waters off the West Australian coast near Broome for his first major campaign since retiring from politics last month.
Dr Brown said that, as an adviser to the group, he hopes to raise awareness of the devastating consequences if federal approval is granted to huge gas projects where humpback whales are known to thrive.
"This is an ancient whale birthing centre," he told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday on board the ship named after the late environmentalist Steve Irwin.
"It's no place for gas factories, gas ships, and all the disruption that's going to come with this $30 billion dollar destructive project, if it goes ahead."
Western Australia's environmental approval authority gave Woodside the tick of approval for gas hub development in the region earlier this week, but Dr Brown said the federal government still has to sign off on it.
The Sea Shepherd crew will be meeting Aboriginal activists in Broome before sailing to the proposed development site in early August.
It will be the first major Australian waters campaign for Sea Shepherd, which is better known for its high-profile efforts against Japanese whaling.
Dr Brown said the government also needs to step up its efforts in helping Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, who is being detained in Germany