Calculated feints, highlighted with theatrical performances

Traditional Owners and Law Custodians are threatening legal action to stop the proposed development of the biggest LNG precinct in the world, just north of Broome. Joe Roe, Goolarabooloo and Neil McKenzie from Jabirr Jabirr with representatives from Save the Kimberley traveled to Perth last week to meet with the Browse Basin joint venture partners.

The Kimberley Land Council (KLC) has been representing traditional owners in talks with Woodside and the WA Government over the proposed James Price Point LNG precinct. Over 200 TOs have signed a declaration claiming the KLC has no right to negotiate on their behalf.

Dissident traditional owner Neil McKenzie says he will do whatever it takes to stop the development. "There are a lot of issues that are of concern to us and we will challenge them in whatever way, if it's legally or whatever other challenge we can find we will use," he said.

Disgruntled at KLC, WA’s Department of State Development and Barnett’s modus operandi, the owners who are opposed met with Browse Basin joint venture partners to inform them that the propaganda continually alleged that this proposal is supported by the traditional people is totally misleading. (This issue is really about Land Rights vs Human Rights and I will elaborate of this topic in the New Year)

There have been several calculated feints, highlighted with theatrical performances like the reprehensible illegal signing of the Heads of Agreement at James Price Point. Genealogy for this Country is still sitting on the table.
How can anyone sign away anything, least of all negotiate a Indigenous Land Use Agreement, whilst the majority is still piecing together their blood connections to Country, dealing with all the regurgitated sorry business that is coming with it and trying to manage the knowledge of it all.



Apparently, all the joint venture partners were generally very surprised to hear that the majority of Indigenous people from this Country do not want this development. It was explained that many people have very strong heritage ties and cultural responsibilities for the maintenance, care and protection of Country.
In the coming New Year we will restate and action our commitment to saving James Price Point for the people and for the planet. We will continue to express our concerns about the highly questionable approval processes being employed and the current negotiations and social and environmental damages assessments that are currently being white washed for publication.

The state government is the proponent to this project; the state government decides which boxes to tick, the state government employs and pays the researchers and consultants to tick the boxes and the state government will approve all the ticks and will forward on, to get that one last big tick from the Minister Garrett.

Then we will all be ticked off