Walmadany Media by   redhanded8937

Barnett ties James Price Point gas hub to fracking in the Kimberley

WA Premier Colin Barnett has for the first time drawn a strong link between his proposed gas hub at James Price Point and the potentially vast onshore shale gas deposits in the Kimberley’s Canning Basin.

Global Shale Gas Reserves

As commentators and industry analysts increasingly raise doubts about the economic viability of the Premier’s gas hub - and talk instead of floating LNG as the most profitable way for Woodside and Shell to exploit gas from the offshore Browse Basin – 







Barnett has responded by saying that,

“WA’s vast quantities of shale gas could be put through James Price Point…The [onshore] shale gas resource in the Canning Basin is probably twice the size of the offshore Carnarvon and Browse Basins…that’s another strong argument why the WA government wishes to see James Price Point developed.” (Premier Colin Barnett, “Politics of Gas”, Sunday Times newspaper, January 13, 2013)

The only way the trillions of cubic feet of methane believed to be ‘locked up’ in the Canning Basin could be exploited is by a massive gas fracking operation involving fracking wells, pipes, ponds, roads etc spread over thousands of square kilometres. This project if it were to proceed would have serious implications for the iconic Fitzroy River, important wetlands, and groundwater resources that are relied upon by Aboriginal communities and pastoralists.

Conservationists have long argued that the proposed LNG complex at James Price Point is the ‘thin end of the wedge’ and that if developed it would lead to the industrialisation of other areas across the Kimberley.  This new clarification from Colin Barnett demonstrates that those concerns were well founded and that exploiting gas from the Browse offshore field is just one small part of the reason why Barnett wants to establish a massive gas processing facility at James Price Point.

This why he, and it, must be stopped!

 

Woodside plans Broome camp for 857 - The West Australian

The Application will be advertised from Thursday the 17th January, 2013 for 21 days. The Application, planning report and plans will be on display at the Broome Shire Administration office and accessible on the Shire website at http://www.broome.wa.gov.au/ on the page "public comment".

Woodside plans Broome camp for 857 - The West Australian:
Woodside said the main construction workforce would be at a purpose-built accommodation village at the Browse LNG Precinct, 60km north of Broome near James Price Point.

The camp would be the first accommodation available for the proposed development and house Woodside employees and contractors, including construction workers and offshore workers.

"The camp will minimise the use of established tourist accommodation during the Broome's tourist peak season," a Woodside spokeswoman said.

Woodside given permission to drill in Kimberley | Green Left Weekly

Woodside given permission to drill in Kimberley | Green Left Weekly:
 In 1991 the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee concluded that no exploration should occur in this area.

The sand dunes and rare Monsoon Vine Thickets have been recommended for protection by the WA Environmental Protection Authority twice in the past twenty years because of their environmental significance and their cultural heritage values.

The WA Museum also recommended they be protected in 1989 because of their outstanding archaeological and cultural significance.

“Why do we have to find out about Woodside getting permission to destroy our law and culture on the radio? Goolarabooloo evidence in 1991 from the old people is clear. The ACMC accepted it then. It has been ignored by the Minister now. They are trying to rewrite history” said Goolarabooloo Law Boss Phillip Roe.

 This video was made in October 2011 when Woodside went into the Walmadany sanddunes without any permission nor did they have a Section 18. Woodside carved tracks into the dunes that had never seen a vehicle on them ever before. In their destructive illegal activity they drove straight through ancient middens, over artifacts,  through ceremonial sites and also dislodged skeleton remains. 

Complaints made to the Department of indigenous Affairs, by the Goolarabooloo people have never been fully investigated nor has Woodside been prosecuted for this outrageous deliberate damage to registered Cultural Sites.



GOOLARABOOLOO MEDIA RELEASE - 15th January 2013

DECISION “INSULTING JOKE” TO ABORIGINAL HERITAGE

Traditional custodians have responded to today’s revelation on ABC Radio by Department of Indigenous Affairs Chief Heritage Officer Aaron Raynor that State Minister Collier has authorized Woodside to destroy sacred sites on the Kimberley Coast, north of Broome as part of its exploration and assessment work at the controversial James Price Point gas hub site.
Spokesperson and Goolarabooloo Law Boss Phillip Roe says he and senior law boss Joseph Roe had not been given prior notice of the decision but had learnt about it via the media.

“This shows an outrageous disregard for the profound impacts of such a decision on our proven and substantial culture and heritage. 

“The decision is an insulting joke,” Mr Roe said from his home on the Kimberley Coast at Walmadan near the James Price Point gas hub site.

Mr Roe accused the WA Government of attempting to deliberately rewrite indigenous history at the site in its attempt to secure land tenure for the gas hub proponents, Woodside.

And he called on the West’s “alternative Premier” to declare his commitment to better protect indigenous heritage and culture and request his Federal Labor colleague, Environment Minister Tony Burke, to intervene.

“Why do we have to hear on the radio that Woodside has been given permission to destroy our Country, Law and Culture . It’s not right” says Goolarabooloo Law Boss Phillip Roe.

“The evidence from our old people and from us about this Country is clear and has just been ignored. So has the decision in 1991 about the exact same area of land by the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC ) with the help of the Kimberley Land Council to stop this kind of disturbance.” 

“All that has changed since 1991 is that the government is now hell bent on putting the gas hub here. They are trying to rewrite the history of this Country and the governments own decisions.”.

“My Grandfather Lulu opened up this special area for all people, everyone as an important part of reconciliation and to preserve our Culture and Living Heritage. How can anyone agree to the destruction of another persons culture?” says Phillip Roe. 

“Furthermore, the people likely to be entrusted with the job of overseeing these works by Woodside are traditional owners but they are not cultural custodians deeply versed in the stories and sites of the country.

“Myself, Joseph Roe and Richard Hunter – none of us have been asked to assist but we are the senior law men for the site."

Mr Roe said the WA government “is incapable of protecting our oldest living heritage.”
He called on Federal Heritage Minister, Tony Burke, to exercise his responsibilities under Federal Aboriginal Heritage Law.

And in this election year, my people, the Goolarabooloo, call on the Opposition Leader Mark McGowan, the alternate Premier of West Australia to state his position on the preservation of aboriginal heritage and country in our State.

“We also call on him to consult with his Federal colleague Mr Burke to use his Federal powers and intervene in this outrageous action by Premier Colin Barnett.”

                               **********************************
     
This land, and the life it supports, were created at the beginning of time by those of the spirit.  This is the Law, Burrgarrigurra.  We, the Aboriginal Law-men, have held this knowledge unbroken since the first people inhabited this earth.

Some say the land is there for the benefit of people alone.  But how can that be? It is not different from us.  Like humans, the wallabies and trees, rocks and water are all made of that same living, vibrating spirit.  There is nothing in this entire world which is not of that spirit.  When we know this intelligence, when we fathom what is at the 'bottom' of everything, we can, as human beings, realise our purpose and the meaning of our lives.

Paddy Roe OAM,
Traditional Custodian and Law-Keeper
of the land known as Waterbank Pastoral Station,
as interpreted by Joe Roe, 1992.

Burke must intervene as Barnett rubber stamps destruction of Aboriginal heritage at James Price Point | Greens MPs

Burke must intervene as Barnett rubber stamps destruction of Aboriginal heritage at James Price Point | Greens MPs:

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke must intervene immediately to protect Aboriginal heritage at James Price Point and beyond in the wake of the Western Australian government's decision to allow the Woodside Petroleum Gas Hub to disturb Aboriginal heritage sites, the Australian Greens said today.

Greens leader Senator Christine Milne said "I'm shocked that the West Australian government is allowing such destructive acts to happen, particularly when there are two court cases pending.

"Tony Burke has to step in immediately to protect this priceless heritage."

Claims WA government ignored own advice on indigenous cultural heritage - Bush Telegraph - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Claims WA government ignored own advice on indigenous cultural heritage - Bush Telegraph - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):
 The WA government knew of the threat to culturally significant areas at James Price Point but supports the development anyway, according to lawyers for the Goolarabooloo.

Andrew Chalk who is representing the Goolarabooloo and native title claimant, Joseph Roe, claim Woodside wrote to the WA government asking them to withdraw a letter which stated there are areas of cultural significance.

Studies by the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC) conducted in 1991 showed evidence of indigenous heritage sites at James Price Point.

SBS On Demand | TV and Online Video - Dirty Business: How Mining Made Australia S1 Ep2

SBS On Demand | TV and Online Video - Dirty Business: How Mining Made Australia S1 Ep2
A provocative and groundbreaking series, this is the story of mining in this country. Mining has always been about politics, and this second episode explores the fractious, drama-filled and utterly critical relationship between business and government and the importance of this affiliation to the nation. It illustrates how mining has been a crucible through which both the Labor movement and big business have tried to influence, infiltrate and control governments. (Commissioned by SBS) (Documentary Series) (Part 2 of 3) PG CC 

Sky News: Kimberley the place to be in 2013

Sky News: Kimberley the place to be in 2013:
Western Australia's remote Kimberley has been recommended by the New York Times as one of the best places on the globe to visit.

Woodside's Browse joint venture project, which controversially proposes bringing gas and condensate onshore for processing at a planned gas hub at James Price Point, 60km north of Broome, is the major proposed industrial development in the area.

But Mr Barnett says despite vocal opposition, the vast landscape still remains largely untouched.

'I think people are discovering the Kimberley and it is one of the world's great wilderness areas,' he said on Monday.

Australia's heatwave forecast in one animated map - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Australia's heatwave is shifting north to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, and the high temperatures are forecast to continue for the coming week.

Australia's heatwave forecast in one animated map - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Floating platform idea for Woodside | The Australian

Floating platform idea for Woodside | The Australian:
ONE of the design contractors studying Woodside Petroleum's controversial and expensive Browse LNG project planned for near Broome has advised the partners to look at developing the project through a floating LNG platform because of the high costs of building onshore in Australia.

Houston-based engineering contractor KBR -- the leading engineering contractor on West Australian liquefied natural gas projects -- said that in discussions since Browse front end engineering and design (FEED) studies were submitted last year, there was recognition from Woodside that building projects in Australia was very expensive.

"It's also been discussed that alternatives such as floating LNG are being considered which, if I were a sponsor, I would be considering all options on that," KBR chief executive William Utt told US investors on Friday.

History will prove us right on gas pipeline: WA Premier | The Australian

History will prove us right on gas pipeline: WA Premier | The Australian:
WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett has likened criticism of Woodside's proposed gas hub at James Price Point to the ridicule that dogged other massive engineering projects, such as the ambitious pipeline designed by Charles Yelverton O'Connor to carry water from Perth to the goldfields.

As plans for the $40 billion onshore gas precinct north of Broome look increasingly shaky, Mr Barnett has come under scrutiny for selecting and insisting on a specific gas hub location on the Kimberley coast in his discussions with resource giant Woodside and its joint-venture partners.

Gas saviour now a pipe dream for Premier Colin Barnett | Perth Now

Gas saviour now a pipe dream for Premier Colin Barnett | Perth Now:

Premier Colin Barnett yesterday warned the multinational consortium behind the $40 billion gas hub at James Price Point that they ''don't own'' the gas riches off WA. Source: News Limited

COLIN Barnett is desperately clinging to his dream of a $40 billion gas hub at James Price Point in the Kimberley despite a now-widespread belief it is doomed.

The Premier yesterday warned the multinational consortium behind the project led by energy giant Woodside that they ''don't own it'', referring to the gas riches in the Browse Basin off WA.

And Mr Barnett, who has met the key players recently, insisted he would not let Woodside, and the second-biggest partner in the consortium Shell, abandon the James Price Point location in favour of a floating processing plant offshore a move that would rob the state of a fortune.

But the consortium, which is reconsidering the project design and has promised a final decision within months, is pushing heavily for Mr Barnett to compromise so it can switch to a floating LNG processing plant. Insiders believe it is now the only economically viable option.

Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds | Climate Central

Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds | Climate Central:
While temperatures soared for many this summer, this video takes the longer historical view. It comes to us from our friends at NASA and is an amazing 26-second animation depicting how temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1880. That year is what scientists call the beginning of the “modern record.”

You’ll note an acceleration of those temperatures in the late 1970s as greenhouse gas emissions from energy production increased worldwide and clean air laws reduced emissions of pollutants that had a cooling effect on the climate, and thus were masking some of the global warming signal.

The data come from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures. As NASA notes, “in this animation, reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average.”

My Community Matters Competition | SBS

My Community Matters Competition | SBS:
 My Community Matters is about celebrating the diversity of Australian communities and stories which contribute to an inclusive society.
We are providing Australians with the chance to share their story with the Prime Minister in person on Australia Day 2013, as well as have their story published on the SBS website.
All you need to do is submit your 90 second video.

Energy White Paper that paints a black future for planet.

In some strange quick of public policy-making, the reality of global carbon emissions has basically been totally ignored by the Australian Government. Instead the latest Energy White Paper enthuses about the piles of money Australia will generate by digging up and selling our planet-warming fuels. While Australia claims to be reducing emissions at home, we're increasing our emissions at an alarming rate overseas.

When coal from the Hunter Valley is burnt in a factory in China, that carbon dioxide will still warm the world's climate.When gas drilled from western Queensland is liquefied and burnt in Japan, that methane will still lead to warming.

The Energy White Paper commits Australia to worsening the risks that scientists have been warning us about, such as the drying up of Australia's inland, the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, and the likelihood of more intense cyclones and bushfires.

The White Paper talks incessantly about clean energy. The word "clean" is mentioned an amazing 334 times. But the future it paints for Australian energy is filthy and the motives are dictated  by corrupt government lead by the dirty corporate puppets. .

in some strange quick of public policy-making, this reality of global carbon emissions has been ignored. Instead the White Paper enthuses about the piles of money Australia will generate by digging up and selling our planet-warming fuels. While Australia is reducing emissions at home, we're increasing our emissions overseas.

When coal from the Hunter Valley is burnt in a factory in China, that carbon dioxide will still warm the world's climate. When gas drilled from western Queensland is liquefied and burnt in Japan, that methane will still lead to warming. The Energy White Paper commits Australia to worsening the risks that scientists have been warning us about, such as the drying up of Australia's inland, the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, and the likelihood of more intense cyclones and bushfires.

The White Paper talks incessantly about clean energy. The word "clean" is mentioned an amazing 334 times. But the future it paints for Australian energy is filthy.
 http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4363398.html

Current Australian carbon emissions are about 1.5% of the global emissions. But when you factor in the coal we currently export, it adds up to another another 3.3% of global emissions giving a total of 4.8% without factoring in natural gas exports which is currently ramping up or the increase in coal exports.

"When its current domestic carbon dioxide emissions and its exported CO2 emissions are combined, Australia ranks as the planet’s 6th largest emitter of CO2 – after China, the USA, the Russian Federation, India and Indonesia." Assoc Professor Peter Christoff
It's time we become more responsible as a major global source of emissions.

WA fears green hit to gas hub

WA Premier Colin Barnett is concerned the $30 billion Kimberley gas hub involving some of the world’s biggest oil companies could become the next casualty of pressure from green groups before the next election.

The federal government on Thursday defended its approvals process after Queensland and Western Australia claimed big mining projects were being held up by the Commonwealth. 
These included Rio Tinto’s $1.4 billion South of Embley project in Cape York and Toro Energy’s Wiluna project in WA.
The states warned Environment Minister Tony Burke against blocking or delaying mining projects to boost its support among green voters.
Mr Barnett, already seething over Mr Burke’s decision late last year to delay final approval for the Toro project, which would be the state’s first uranium mine, said the approvals process should be apolitical.
“There’s been some indication in the Kimberley that despite a process that was agreed to by all groups, including environmental groups, that the Labor government in Canberra now tends to be back-tracking,” he said.
“I just don’t think you play politics with environmental approvals or any type of approval. There are set criteria, most environmental issues come down to a matter of science, and the science should prevail.”
Woodside Petroleum’s Browse gas project, to be built at James Price Point north of Broome, has divided the local community and is the subject of legal challenges from environmental and indigenous groups.
Mr Burke is yet to sign off on the project and Woodside and its joint-venture partners are due to make a final investment decision later this year. Former Greens leader Bob Brown has been one of the project’s most vocal critics, describing it as the “world’s biggest gas factory”.
Queensland acting premier Jeff Seeney said the extra environmental approvals placed on Rio’s South of Embley project in north Queensland – after complaints by environmentalists over shipping routes in the Great Barrier Reef – were politically motivated. “It’s a good example of where credible evidence-based, science-based process has been overtaken for political games,” he said.
 
“It’s an example of the approval process that has been delayed because of unnecessary political interference,” he said.
 
It is understood the federal government backed away from giving up its veto rights over the final approval of resources projects because the states and territories could not agree on a single approach. It believed this could provide less certainty for business and possibly open up legal risks.
 
Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson was overseas yesterday and unavailable for comment. Mr Burke is on annual leave.
 
A spokeswoman for Mr Burke said the federal government was committed to streamlining environmental assessment and approval processes.
 
“This commitment includes introducing legislative reforms in 2013 and also working with states, through strategic assessments and by improving existing single assessment arrangements,” the spokeswoman said.

Whitehaven Hoax | ATSIC Probe Into Moylan

Whitehaven Hoax | ATSIC Probe Into Moylan:
 
This week Australians face an emergency so catastrophic that we have not yet imagined a name for it. It is so unprecedented that the Bureau of Meteorology has had to invent a new category for it. The 50 to 52 degrees air mass over Australia is the hottest on record, and worldwide, 2013 is predicted to be the hottest recorded.

With bushfires raging and lives and property lost, you might think that people who seek to put the prevention of such environmental catastrophes on the public agenda would be applauded. Instead, they are criminalised.

But to charge him (Moylan) with a criminal offence would be utterly immoral.

On Tuesday activist Jonathan Moylan was spectacularly successful in getting the issue of prevention on our newspapers' front pages. Moylan pulled off an elegant hoax. By issuing a fake media release saying ANZ had pulled its $1.2 billion loan from Whitehaven Coal mines on ethical grounds, he disrupted markets and invited public scrutiny of an industry that is driving the climate change that has led to a new category of emergency.

Robert Sanchez's video Gas Plant Explosion Mexico Sept 2012

It was not that long ago when DSD public servants were telling the people of Broome and surrounding communities that Gas hubs do not blow up.

Well, please watch this video and tell me, if this is not gas hub blowing up than what is?


 At least 26 workers died in an explosion at a Mexican gas facility.

A spokesperson for the plant’s operator, Pemex, said another 27 people had been injured in the blast and fire.

Environmental Defenders' cash threat | Newcastle Herald

Environmental Defenders' cash threat | Newcastle Herald:
THE head of the NSW Minerals Council urged Barry O’Farrell to strip the Environmental Defenders Office of its funding because of its potential to interrupt coal industry projects, newly disclosed letters to the premier have revealed.

In a letter addressed to Mr O’Farrell last October, the council’s chief executive, Stephen Galilee, said he was concerned about the office’s association with the anti-coal movement.

‘‘It is difficult to understand the logic behind NSW taxpayers’ funds being provided to an organisation intent on using those funds to lodge legal challenges against decisions taken on behalf of taxpayers by the NSW government,’’ he wrote (see excerpt).

‘‘It is even more absurd for these funds to be used to support a deliberate campaign of economic sabotage against an industry providing our most valuable export commodity.’’

He concluded by requesting Mr O’Farrell cease funding the EDO as a ‘‘matter of urgency’’.

CSG protest hailed a success - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

CSG protest hailed a success - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):
 "It may be legal, but only with the laws as they are now, and those laws should change to reflect the wishes of the community and that is, they have said no to coal seam gas," he said.

"This industry does not have a social licence.

"It has not any support in the community and the people are putting their bodies on the line defending their land and water and the people of the Northern Rivers should be congratulated for doing that by people across NSW and Australia."