Premier heckled by protesters - The West Australian

Premier heckled by protesters - The West Australian:

Mr Barnett said the social impact of the proposed gas hub would be minimal on Broome, sparking jeers from the crowd, some of whom had waited for almost two hours for Mr Barnett to appear.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151371312009424.505968.581444423&type=1

 MEDIA RELEASE FROM BROOME COMMUNITY NO GAS CAMPAIGN
Broome residents say NO to the Premier - because the social impacts of the gas hub proposal have been ignored. This evening 140+ members of the Broome Community No Gas Campaign chanted “Broome says NO” outside a Liberal party ‘sundowner’ at the Broome Civic Centre being attended by the WA Premier Colin Barnett. Campaign members were there to show their ongoing anger and concern about the way the Liberal government is imposing the gas hub project on the town of Broome.

Spokesperson for the Campaign, Nik Wevers, said: “The Strategic Assessment Agreement (SAR) which underpins this project was signed without any input from residents of Broome. Part of that Agreement required a social impact assessment. This also was done with almost no input from local residents. The outcome is that the Broome community will be faced with having to participate in various community reference groups to ‘manage’ the impacts, when in fact we believe the impacts will be too great to manage.“

Campaigners are angry that their fears regarding the future of community life in Broome have been ignored. An application to build an 850 person workers’ camp just outside Broome that has recently been received by the Shire is a case in point. It is proposed that this camp will accommodate workers who will construct the new town for up to 8,000 construction workers near James Price Point. These workers will undoubtedly have an impact. “We are concerned about more traffic on the road, the potential for increased drug availability, fights between workers and locals over girls, thousands of extra single people recreating on our beaches and driving unmanaged in the bush, opportunities for small business, impact on availability of airline seats, health services and so on – a whole swag of changes that are unlikely to be positive for our town” said Ms Wevers.

The SAR requires the Federal Minister Tony Burke consider the social impacts before he gives his approval for this project.

Ms Wevers “We, the residents of this town made it what it is. We are being bullied into submission by the Barnett government to accept this project; it will destroy our community, our culture and our country and we are not prepared to lie down and take it”.

“The Broome Community No Gas Campaign is therefore calling on the Minister Burke to immediately appoint an independent expert panel to identify what the social impacts of the proposed gas hub project are likely to be on the town of Broome, and to evaluate whether they are addressed by the WA Government’s plans outlined in the SAR. No decision on approval for the project should be made until the issue of social impacts has been addressed to the satisfaction of the Broome community.”

For further comments contact Nik Wevers on 0417998598
Broome Community No Gas Campaign
Website: www.broomenogas.org : Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BroomeNoGas

Wheatstone emissions ruling confuses - The West Australian

Wheatstone emissions ruling confuses - The West Australian:
Environment Minister Bill Marmion has injection confusion into the issue of pollution restrictions on Chevron's Wheatstone LNG project, claiming he would seek Federal intervention if the development boosted WA's greenhouse gas emissions beyond a certain amount.

It emerged this week Mr Marmion had disregarded Environmental Protection Authority advice and removed conditions on Wheatstone that would have forced Chevron to keep carbon emissions below 0.26 tonnes for every tonne of LNG produced and be scrutinised by independent assessors who would make their findings public.

Why is the Broome Community opposed to the development?

Why is the Broome Community opposed to the development?:
The Broome community is opposed to the development because they believe it will have wide range of environmental, cultural and social impacts on life in our town and on the nearby country. Most people have visited the Pilbara and seen the impacts that major resource development projects bring.

Sea Shepherd Australia :: Operation Kimberley Miinimbi Update

Rae Price Sea Shepherd Conservation Society thank you so much for your support in keeping the Kimberley and James Price Point safe from destruction. If any of you would like to assist, please sign this petition to Minister Tony Burke to stop Woodside from disturbing ancient burial grounds in the dunes near James Price Point (Walmadany) without giving any rationale, and despite findings by a previous State Government that these sites must be protected for environmental and cultural heritage reasons

Sea Shepherd Australia :: Operation Kimberley Miinimbi Update:

Dave Smith photo. Sea Shedard at James Price Point 2012

Operation Zero Tolerance and Kimberley Miinimbi Leader Bob Brown stated, "I have been to the sand dunes in question a number of times with members of the Goolarabooloo Aboriginal community who not only oppose the on-shore option but who are committed to physically oppose works there. They are justified in their opposition. This coast is not only alive with their Songlines (oral history and ongoing connection with country), but it is replete with Aboriginal sites such as middens, tool-making and burial sites. Some will be disturbed by the proposed exploratory works and face obliteration if the factory and attendant port with breakwater are constructed."

Petition | Tony Burke: Protect sacred Aboriginal burial grounds in the Kimberley | Change.org

Petition | Tony Burke: Protect sacred Aboriginal burial grounds in the Kimberley | Change.org:
The WA State government has given permission for Woodside's proposed gas plant to disturb ancient burial grounds in the dunes near James Price Point (Walmadany) without giving any rationale, and despite findings by a previous State Government that these sites must be protected for environmental and cultural heritage reasons.

Traditional owner, Teresa Roe says, “My spirit comes from this country. My sister was stolen by welfare so my parents hid me, so I could be raised on country with my culture. I raised 9 of my own children and 8 of my sisters children after she passed away. My sons are the law men for this country. They have the responsibility to protect it. They hold the songs, the stories. Our ancestors are buried in those dunes. No one would allow a whitefella cemetery to be dug up so why here?

When Tony Burke sat down with us he looked me in the eye, and I told him “I kept my country alive… I don’t want anybody destroying it. I don’t want the money, I want the country and my spirit."

The state government has failed us. We need Tony Burke to step in and act.”

More info here and here.

"The James Price Point Monsoonal Vine Thicket patch is the largest patch in the Dampier Peninsula MVT network and identified as one of the six priority areas for conservation. It is the largest patch and the most species-rich of its type, containing 4 Priority State-listed Plants. It is the one of the most strategic patches in the network, connecting the northern and southern rainforest MVT patches, with next largest patch being Carnot Bay - 45kms " Louise Beams

Environs Kimberley :: Saving the nature of the Kimberley

www.environskimberley.org.au

Saving the nature of the Kimberley

Number of land acquisition mistakes unknown - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Number of land acquisition mistakes unknown - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):
The State Government says it still does not know how many projects are vulnerable to legal challenge because of mistakes made acquiring land.

Late last year, the Government was forced to restart the compulsory acquisition of land north of Broome for the Browse LNG project because the correct process had not been followed.

It was then revealed the same problem, a failure to notify the Native Title Tribunal of the Government intention to take the land, had been made on acquisitions dating back to the 1990's.

Broome Advertiser

The Connection Of Lillian Maher, Michael Gallagher & Their Private Companies to FMG Land Access Operations | Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation

The Connection Of Lillian Maher, Michael Gallagher & Their Private Companies to FMG Land Access Operations | Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation:
By National Indigenous Times reporter Gerry Georgatos

The National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) President, Graeme Neate and the Tribunal’s Registrar, Stephanie Fryer-Smith have launched an external inquiry into a former State Manager after reports published in the National Indigenous Times revealed allegations of various improprieties in reference to undeclared interests by its employee to the Tribunal. High Court of Australia officers have arrived in Western Australia as part of this inquiry and have been interviewing people – with only the notice of a few hours.

More to come

REVELATIONS NEXT WEEK
Last year the National Indigenous Times put two whistleblowers on the record regarding FMG’s Native Title meddling, Mr Kerry Savas and Mr Bruce Woodley.

Next week the NIT will run with an exclusive report from another whistleblower “who will corroborate the claims by Mr Savas and Mr Woodley.” The NIT has flagged that its new source is high-level, and that their “allegations are even more serious than those raised by Mr Savas and Mr Woodley.”
Well done Gerry Georgatos - again!

If the law is an ass are we obliged to obey it? – Echonetdaily

This is a great read because it's the same story facing many communities across Australia, just in different states.

A story that is being repeated across the planet when corporations decided that when they want something, they have the unquestioned God damn right, (not human rights because corporations are not human) to take whatever, however, wherever and whenever they like, regardless of what the people want and communities want.  Regardless, of our human rights to seek to preserve the precious water and retain our clear air and maybe even a little some gas for the following generations.

If the law is an ass are we obliged to obey it? – Echonetdaily:

Activist and SCU law lecturer Aidan Ricketts says the riot police at the recent Glenugie protest used an unusual law to move protesters . Photo Eve Jeffery

‘Communities have expected that a new and high-risk industry would not be imposed on a region when 85 per cent of the residents oppose it.

‘Yet instead of slowing down, doing the science or consulting, we have the NSW government trying to impose this dangerous new industrialisation on the community by force.

‘The social movement is committed to non-violence at the deepest level, but the shock waves of trauma that go through a community when they see government using riot troops to smash legitimate community protest will have unpredictable consequences.

‘The NSW government is playing a very dangerous game in turning the riot squad against its own population, and against a non-violent social movement.’

China and Australia top list of 'carbon bomb' projects | Environment | guardian.co.uk

China and Australia top list of 'carbon bomb' projects | Environment | guardian.co.uk:
 China and Australia top a global list of planned oil, gas and coal projects that will act as "carbon bombs" and push the planet towards catastrophic climate change.


The Point of No Return study, by consultancy firm Ecofys for Greenpeace, calculated that the 14 giant fossil fuel projects would produce 6.3 gigatonnes of CO2 a year in 2020 – as much as the entire United States emits annually.

The largest contributors will be China's five north-western provinces, which aim to increase coal production by 620m tonnes by 2015, generating an additional 1.4bn tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.

Australia's burgeoning coal export industry, already the largest in the world, is in second place due to its potential growth to 408m tonnes of shipped resource a year by 2025, resulting in an annual 760m tonnes of CO2.