Couldn’t Be Fairer (1984) clip 2 on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online
From what I witnessed the other night in a Broome Community Meeting, I do not believe much has changed since this clip in 1984.
Photo Damian Kelly
ACTION OF THE DAY
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A score of ANZ Banking Group machines sprawled across six capital cities were plastered with "out of order" signs on Sunday after campaigners launched their latest bid to draw attention to the bank's funding of the coal industry.
Posts
Woodside renews Barnett stoush
ReplyDeleteANDREW BURRELL AND PAUL GARVEY From: The Australian October 17, 2013
TENSIONS between Woodside Petroleum and West Australian Premier Colin Barnett have spilled into the open after the Perth company claimed the state government controlled a relatively minor 5 per cent of the massive Browse gasfields off the Kimberley coast.
Woodside's comments yesterday were designed to send a clear message to Mr Barnett that it does not need his support as part of its plans to develop the multi-billion-dollar Browse project using radical floating LNG technology.
The Premier is furious with Woodside for abandoning its original development option of building a $40 billion-plus onshore plant at James Price Point in the Kimberley, arguing that the move to FLNG will cost local jobs.
In an interview with The Australian last month, Mr Barnett warned Woodside that it may be unable to secure sales contracts for its Browse gas because he would refuse to allow his state's share of the massive resource to be developed using FLNG.
The Premier insisted the state had leverage over Woodside and its Browse partners because WA owned 30 per cent of the project's biggest field, Torosa, giving it ownership of about 15 per cent of the overall 15.9 trillion cubic feet of gas. The rest of the gas is in commonwealth waters.
"At the moment I don't see how the Browse project could sell gas to an international customer because it doesn't have clear ownership of that gas," Mr Barnett said. "It does on the commonwealth leases, but not on the state leases.
"But Woodside executive director Rob Cole told a Perth business function yesterday that the company estimated that only 5 per cent of the gas was in the state permits. "There are seven retention leases: five are commonwealth and two are state," Mr Cole said.
"It's certainly in our estimation that 95 per cent of the volumes are in the commonwealth permits, leaving 5 per cent in the state permits . . . that means obviously inside commonwealth waters the vast majority of the gas is there (so) it's critical that we get commonwealth approvals.
"Mr Cole said Woodside still hoped to "get aligned" with the state government on the project.
Asked about the Browse project yesterday, Mr Barnett reiterated his stance that the state owned 15 per cent of the gas and it would use that position of influence to try to force Woodside to build an onshore supply base for Browse in the Kimberley. But Woodside earlier declined to give an assurance that it would build an onshore supply base as part of the Browse project.
Mr Barnett refuses Woodside's requests to amend the two retention leases that cover WA's share of the gas.
Former federal resources minister Gary Gray agreed to amend the commonwealth leases in August, which effectively paved the way for the Browse partners to adopt FLNG. Mr Gray's replacement, Ian Macfarlane, is planning to travel to Perth soon to speak to Mr Barnett about the issue. He declined to comment last night.
Why do these two stories always appear together?
ReplyDeleteThe JPP supply base vs Broome Port.
.
PREMIER OPERATING BEHIND A VEIL OF SECRECY
Tuesday, 15TH October 2013
Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC has accused the Premier of operating behind a veil of secrecy when it comes to ongoing development plans of the Browse Basin.
“In response to a series of questions in Parliament regarding the Government’s plans for the extraction and processing of Browse Basin gas and petroleum, the Premier has refused to tell the people of Western Australia which companies are currently considering the development of a processing facility at James Price Point,” Mr Chapple said.
“While some companies have clearly indicated that they would be using floating technology, the Premier insists that some are seriously considering establishing an LNG precinct and associated industries, such as fertilizer and explosives factories, at James Price Point, but he won’t say who they are,” Mr Chapple said.
Another Parliamentary question, citing the Supreme Court’s decision of 19 August 2013 that declared the environmental approval of the Browse LNG precinct invalid and asking if it was now time for the government to abandon its plans to develop James Price Point, drew a refusal to do so.
“Indeed, the Minister for the Environment was at pains to point out that ‘the State intends to continue with the necessary approvals to provide for future opportunities for LNG development’.
“With comments such as these, one could be forgiven for wondering who is looking after the environment,” Mr Chapple said.
“Secrecy also surrounds planning documents such as the Dampier Peninsula Planning Strategy. More than a year after its development, this document still hasn’t been released for public comment even though it has been endorsed by the Statutory Planning Committee. Yet it forms the basis of the Local Planning Scheme currently under preparation by the Shire of Broome.
“Members of the community are crying out to be part of this process, a cry that is being ignored by a Premier who thinks he knows best,” Mr Chapple said.
.....
Minister Buswell: New Life for Broome Wharf
The Kimberley community is set to benefit from a $24.15million investment to refurbish and repair the Broome wharf.
The State Government today approved funding for the Broome Wharf Extension of Life Project at Broome Port.
Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the Broome wharf, operated by the Broome Port Authority, serviced the only deepwater port in the Kimberley region.
“The project involves removing sections of the original wharf’s concrete deck to access the steelwork underneath; replacing corroded sections of the steelwork; reinstating the concrete deck; and refurbishing and repairing the supporting piles,” Mr Buswell said.
“This funding allows for the structural integrity of the wharf to be restored, enabling the Broome Port Authority to continue using the facility at full capacity to service the needs of the Kimberley community.
“The Broome Port plays a critical role in supporting the local economy, and through the continued operation of the wharf, this economy will be able to expand through ongoing commercial opportunities.”
The Broome Wharf Extension of Life Project is funded through the Government’s Royalties for Regions program.
Vital water buffers must stay mine-free: agency
ReplyDeleteCoal seam gas mining should be banned from 370,000 hectares of land protecting Sydney's drinking water, a government agency says, potentially preventing the extraction of billions of dollars' worth of gas.
It follows a call by the Sydney Catchment Authority for a ban on longwall mining near major lakes and reservoirs, as reported by Fairfax Media on Wednesday.
The O'Farrell government has proposed rules that would ban coal seam gas mining within two kilometres of residential areas and some rural industries.
However mining companies have also been eyeing off the state's water catchments, a network of dams, pipelines and pristine bush on land potentially rich with gas.
Advertisement
The catchment authority, which is charged with protecting water quality, said the government should ban coal seam gas activity from designated ''special areas'' - bush that acts as a buffer to stop nutrients and other substances from affecting water supply.
The move would rule out about 371,000 hectares around Sydney, the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, southern highlands and Shoalhaven.
A submission by the authority said coal seam gas operations, especially production, ''may significantly compromise the values of the special areas''.
No coal seam gas activities are approved in Sydney's water catchments. Apex Energy NL had approval to drill for gas in the catchment between Sydney and Wollongong, but the planning assessment commission killed off the plan in July, saying the effects were too uncertain.
However the environmental impact of coal seam gas operations has already been felt in the Pilliga, where gas company Santos has been prosecuted for failing to report saline spills into a creek.
The Greens and the Nature Conservation Council this week backed the authority's call for longwall mining bans and exemptions from changes to mining assessments that would prioritise a project's economic benefit.
A Planning Department spokesman said the demands were beyond the scope of proposed changes. On the issue of coal seam gas, the spokesman said the government was protecting drinking water catchments by setting minimum harm requirements for proposals that interfere with groundwater, banning certain chemicals from the fracking process and requiring all proposed development have a ''neutral or beneficial effect'' on water quality.
Gas company AGL said the government's proposed exclusion zones ''will exacerbate the gas supply crisis'' and increase power prices.
Every time I see this it reminds me of the jealousy recent settlers (and even tourists) have over the Aboriginal lands of the Dampier Peninsular.
ReplyDelete.
Tony Abbott homes in on Top End land reform
IN West Arnhem yesterday, on the border of the Kakadu National Park, traditional owners signed an agreement to negotiate a 99-year lease over their land, the first such deal under an Abbott government blitz of Top End communities that is aimed at boosting private home ownership.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion signed the deal with nine traditional owners to finalise negotiations for a township lease in Gunbalanya, 300km east of Darwin, prior to June 30 next year, handing the Coalition its first win in its bid to overhaul land reform.
...........
Double standards - much worry about Aboriginal Corporations but look at these people AND NSW!
.
PM won't act on doubtful claims
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is refusing to take action against a Liberal MP who has spent more than $10,000 of taxpayers' money on questionable expenses, including travel that appears to be linked to his Cairns investment property.
As Fairfax Media revealed the most serious allegations so far in the expenses scandal, an Australian Federal Police spokeswoman confirmed the AFP had ''recently received a number of complaints from members of the public in relation to the alleged misuse of entitlements by members of Parliament''. The AFP would not be investigating, saying it had forwarded the information to the Department of Finance.
.............
Julie Bishop backflip over whaling patrol ship
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has pulled back from the Coalition's previous firm commitment to sending a patrol ship south to monitor the whaling conflict this summer.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the federal government's position was unaltered, indicating it might not be necessary to send a patrol ship south if the ICJ returned a decision favouring Australia in the whaling case.
............
After offering the Yindjibarndi $4 million a year for almost all their country - 110 years payed for in 2 days!
.
Generous Forrest earns $440m in two days
Mining magnate and philanthropist Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest can afford to be even more generous, after a spike in Fortescue Metals' share price earned him a staggering $440 million paper profit in just two days.
Mr Forrest was lauded by Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday for his $65 million gift to the University of Western Australia to fund scholarships, postdoctoral fellowships and a residential college, thought to be the largest single philanthropic donation in Australian history.
So Mr Forrest's stake in the company, which he founded in his living room, was on Wednesday worth more than $5.5 billion, with other assets likely to put his fortune way above that.
And let's not forget the tidy sum he receives from dividends, which are set to rise.
Superior post, keep up with this exceptional work. It's nice to know that this topic is being also covered on this web site so cheers for taking the time to discuss this! Thanks again and again! clip in veneers
ReplyDelete