Scott Reef Single Opposes Woodside Gas Drilling
Environmental campaign song If Not Now challenges Woodside's plan to drill up to 57 gas wells near the reef.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Environmental
Live Poll
Should Woodside be allowed to drill for gas beneath Scott Reef?
Scott Reef has released a debut single, If Not Now, opposing Woodside's proposal to drill up to 57 gas wells under and around the reef. The song is a campaign version of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's If Not Now, Then When?, which won the inaugural Environmental Music Prize in 2022.
Why it matters
Woodside needs federal approval to develop the Browse gas field, which lies directly beneath Scott Reef, and Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to make that decision in the coming months. The campaign reflects growing public engagement, with more than half a million people joining Greenpeace's opposition to the drilling.
Scott Reef is a 15-million-year-old coral reef located 270 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, with the Browse gas field lying directly beneath it. Woodside's plan to drill up to 57 gas wells has not yet received federal approval, and the outcome of the decision remains unknown.
The players
Woodside
Woodside is an Australian energy company seeking federal approval to develop the Browse gas field beneath Scott Reef.
Murray Watt
Murray Watt is Australia's Environment Minister, who is expected to decide on Woodside's Browse gas field development.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Greenpeace Australia Pacific is the Australian arm of the global environmental organisation, which is campaigning against the drilling plan.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is an Australian psychedelic rock band whose song If Not Now, Then When? inspired the campaign single.
The details
The single was produced by Mackenzie with Tim Shiel, and Tay Blunt engineered vocals at a secret session during BIGSOUND 2026. Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Green Music Australia and p(doom) Records released the track, and Greenpeace nominated Scott Reef for the National Heritage List in October.
Timeline
2022: Original song If Not Now, Then When? wins the inaugural Environmental Music Prize.
BIGSOUND 2026: Vocals for the campaign version are engineered at a secret session.
9 November 2026: The debut single If Not Now is released.
October 2026: Greenpeace nominates Scott Reef for the National Heritage List.
In the coming months: Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to decide on Woodside's approval.
Big Picture
The campaign single adapts the song that won the inaugural Environmental Music Prize in 2022 into a direct challenge to a specific gas project. It extends that prize-winning work from broad advocacy into targeted opposition to Woodside's plan for the Browse gas field.
If approved, the Browse gas field development would involve drilling up to 57 wells under and around Scott Reef, a site that also hosts endangered pygmy blue whales that feed around the reef. Residents and visitors interested in the reef's future can follow the federal decision as it develops.
The takeaway
The campaign shows how a cultural work can carry a specific environmental objection into a public decision. Readers following the story can watch the federal approval process for Woodside's Browse gas field as the decision approaches.
What happens next
Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to make the federal approval decision on Woodside's Browse gas field development in the coming months.
Further reading
For more on related environmental stories, explore the Environmental section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Beat Magazine.
Live Poll
Should Woodside be allowed to drill for gas beneath Scott Reef?
