Food for thought from the victor, Colin Barnett | The Australian: But Mr Barnett is facing real difficulties in driving the two projects he wants to see developed more than any others: the $6 billion Oakajee Port and rail network in the state's Mid-West region and the proposed $40bn-plus Browse LNG project at James Price Point near Broome.
Oakajee has been stalled by a series of damaging cost blowouts. Perth-based Woodside Petroleum is widely expected to declare its James Price Point LNG option as too expensive.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Hot contest in Kimberley gas hub seat
Hot contest in Kimberley gas hub seat:
It's a huge statement by the people of Broome and the Kimberley that they don't want the gas hub.
It's a huge statement by the people of Broome and the Kimberley that they don't want the gas hub.
Greens in hunt while Nationals stumble in the Kimberley - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Greens in hunt while Nationals stumble in the Kimberley - ABC Kimberley WA - Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Liberals, Greens and Labor cannot be ruled out of taking the seat of Kimberley. It's almost certain that Liberals will fill one of the two top spots. The Greens' hopes hang on nudging in front of the Labor candidate to then do battle with the Liberal candidate on preferencing. And with such a close race, a final result may be some time away as postal votes trickle in.
Broome now has its own mandate to categorical refused to issue the Social Licence to build the world’s largest gas refinery at James Price Point.
Do not despair; the fact of the matter is we are still in
the same position as we were on Friday.
 | |
| http://www.elections.wa.gov.au/results/sg2013/la/KIM |
The Greens in Broome have had a huge positive swing of 12.5%
and this is the crowning success of this
election in the Kimberley. As I write this the Greens are still in for a
possible win. The Broome Polling booths clearly illustrated full support for
the Greens with a large win over the libs. Broome
now has its own mandate to categorical refused to issue the Social Licence to
build the world’s largest gas refinery at James Price Point.
The Greens were the only party that ran on a No Gas platform.
Congratulations
to Chris Maher and his wonderful team of supporters for running an amazing campaign
across one of the biggest electorate in Australia.
Barnett is already squawking his win but the James Price Point’s
ball is no longer in his court. It sits
firmly in the hands of the feds and the final decision of the joint venture
partners. This campaign has known for some time now not to focus too much on
the state government, their corrupted antics and dastardly dealings. We have strategically
concentrated on educating our communities, doing the science and research, raising
national awareness, attracting quality media coverage and enlisting international
support.
"not to lose heart " A Bob Brown’s timely reminder recently at the Brome Community
No Gas event about the political climate in which the Franklin River was
secured should be a comfort to those of us who have worked for over half a
decade on this issue.
The World Heritage Listing before of the Franklin occurred when
the Labor government was defeated at a State election. The new liberal premier at
that time, Robin Gray, was a staunch proponent of the dam who considered the
Franklin River 'nothing but a brown
ditch, leech-ridden and unattractive to the majority of people'. This
sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? However, on 16 June, 1982 the newly elected
Gray government revoked parts of the Wild Rivers National Park, paving the way
for the development of the Gordon-below-Franklin power scheme.
This was met with massive passive resistance in the streets,
in the forests and on the rivers themselves, as Australians rallied to fight
for the Franklin. In the nearby town of Strahan, river blockaders were trained
in techniques of non-violent resistance. Australia had seen nothing like it and
the Franklin Blockade dominated the national media for almost three years. A
total of 2,613 people registered at the TWS headquarters in Strahan to participate
in the campaign, which continued through the summer of 1982-83 and resulted in
the arrest of 1,272 people. Bob Brown was imprisoned for three weeks and many
people, including David Bellamy, were remanded in custody.
Any move by Woodside into the Goolarabooloo sand dunes,
grave sites and Songline in the coming months will again prick the conscience of
the nation. Massive resistance will erupt,
in the cities, streets and in Country and people will demand that we as a
nation have some true integrity to our “sorry”.
Australia’s own international probity will be highlighted and exposed.
Maybe, Burke will wait for the Joint Venture partners to
make their final investment decision, taking pressure off himself. Burke now has National Heritage Act for the
protection of dinosaur tracksites, the recently federally recognised Monsoonal
Vine Thickets as Endangered ecological community and the National Indigenous
Heritage Act. All these Acts enables him in one way or other not to approve
this proposal.
Burke has the powers to call for a public inquiry into how
the Strategic Assessment was so flawed given the facts that the proponents have
failed to:
- conduct a transparent assessment of alternative sites outside the Kimberley to process the Browse gas
- achieve informed consent of the Traditional Owners, as evidenced by the legal uncertainty as to which group is the native title party
- incorporate assessments of social impacts on Indigenous people
- address the negative social impacts on the Broome community and
- the WA Environment Protection Authority’s recommendation to the Western Australian Government to approve the project is now under legal challenge on the grounds that four members of the Board, who disqualified themselves from the decision-making process at a late stage, declaring conflicts of interest, may have influenced the final decision. (So print out and gather signatures for this petition NOW)
- https://www.wilderness.org.au/pdf/petition-minister-burke-public-inquiry-kimberley-lng-james-price-point-epbcact/view
Burke still has not articulated to the people of Australia, under what
legislation will he base his decision on the social and economic impacts. What legislation allows him and him alone to
grant a social licence to operate in a society, where he does not have to live
with the consequence of his decision.
Two very strong court challenges are currently proceeding and
either or both are capable of stopping, waylaying and delaying the project.
This has always been one of our primary objectives as a campaign, to hold them up as long as possible in
order to educate community and price them out of the market. None of the
Joint Venture partner’s brands will come out of this unscathed should they be
stupid enough to tempt faith and go ahead with this toxic filled greenhouse
pumping proposal. People will hold corporate miscreants to account. They do not take their good corporate
citizens responsibilities seriously, but communities do and they will only get
better at calling to account.
Word on the street is that the third compulsory Acquisition
NNTT has also been botched.
So here we are a cohesive, educated, empowered, experienced and
robust community. We have a national movement with an unrelenting momentum that’s
building strength, that has refined its expertise and has created broad
reaching networks that span across this planet.
The campaign no longer needs to be pushed into acceleration;
it has a life of its own. It’s powered by the love of Country. Its principled
in social justice for community, country and culture and has economic equity as
the fringing benefit. This campaign is clearly heading for victory. Victory, for
indigenous cultural heritage and justice, for a community’s resilient spirit and
our children’s future.
Major environmental groups are all seeking to hang their
hats onto this community based campaign. Why? Because, its winnerable. Many
communities across Australia have been inspired by our struggle, and empowered
by our pluck.
What really saddens me about Barnet win, is the example
we are giving our children. That wealth,
at the cost of a planet is success, privilege
without conscience is freedom, science
without humanity is correct, knowledge without character is acceptable, politics
without principle is desirable and commerce without morality is very profitable.
Regardless of the election
results the plain simple truth is they will never take James Price Point away
from the people.Walmadany is an area of outstanding cultural significance and its people’s recognition of this that generates the tenacity
and resolve to protect it.
By the way the dam was finally stopped when a newly elected
Federal Labor government used its constitutional foreign affairs power to
enforce its treaty obligations under the World Heritage Convention. In a close
vote on 1 July, 1983, the High Court of Australia subsequently upheld the Commonwealth’s
position against a challenge from the State of Tasmania.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Site desecrated for profit, NT court hears - The West Australian
Site desecrated for profit, NT court hears - The West Australian: A mining company damaged and desecrated an Aboriginal sacred site in the Northern Territory for commercial reasons, a landmark court case has heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Collett told Darwin Magistrates Court on Friday that OM (Manganese) Ltd was trying to maximise profit at the expense of the site.
"It did the things because it was interested in keeping up with its target," he told magistrate Sue Oliver.
"An ordinary mining company in ordinary conditions would have not have continued with that conduct."
The case is believed to be the first prosecution of a company in Australia for desecrating a sacred site.
Prosecutor Andrew Collett told Darwin Magistrates Court on Friday that OM (Manganese) Ltd was trying to maximise profit at the expense of the site.
"It did the things because it was interested in keeping up with its target," he told magistrate Sue Oliver.
"An ordinary mining company in ordinary conditions would have not have continued with that conduct."
The case is believed to be the first prosecution of a company in Australia for desecrating a sacred site.
Miner promises to protect Qld rock art - The West Australian
Miner promises to protect Qld rock art - The West Australian: One of Australia's biggest mining giants says it has no intention of damaging ancient Quinkan rock art in Cape York, in an area where it wants to explore for minerals.
But opponents aren't convinced.
Jacaranda Joint Venture, half of which is owned by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting company, has applied for two permits to search the region, including a 307 square kilometre area about 40km southeast of Laura.
Hancock Prospecting chief development officer John Klepec says the firm will remove rock art and other significant heritage sites from its application once the locations of these have been confirmed.
He says the firm only recently found out there are significant rock art sites in the area.
But opponents aren't convinced.
Jacaranda Joint Venture, half of which is owned by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting company, has applied for two permits to search the region, including a 307 square kilometre area about 40km southeast of Laura.
Hancock Prospecting chief development officer John Klepec says the firm will remove rock art and other significant heritage sites from its application once the locations of these have been confirmed.
He says the firm only recently found out there are significant rock art sites in the area.
Rio blasted for worker duty of care - The West Australian
Rio blasted for worker duty of care - The West Australian: The FIFO drive-in, drive-out support group said it did not know who was to blame for the delay in finding his body but was concerned at an increasing number of mine deaths that went unnoticed for days.
In one of the worst delays, a worker at Woodside's Pluto liquefied natural gas project was found in January 2011, almost two weeks after he died in his donga at the site's Gap Ridge Village.
"It's really disturbing," group co-ordinator Kristian Italiano said yesterday. "It disgusts me to think that no one checked on this poor guy for four days."
In one of the worst delays, a worker at Woodside's Pluto liquefied natural gas project was found in January 2011, almost two weeks after he died in his donga at the site's Gap Ridge Village.
"It's really disturbing," group co-ordinator Kristian Italiano said yesterday. "It disgusts me to think that no one checked on this poor guy for four days."
Friday, March 8, 2013
Licence to dump poison in water | News | NT News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au
Licence to dump poison in water | News | NT News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au: The Territory's EPA has given a mining company the green light to pump more than 14 gigalitres of water into a pristine Top End river - and locals want to know why.
In its first major decision, the new NT Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) has given a licence to US mining company Vista Gold to pump more than 14 gigalitres of contaminated mine water into the Edith River by the end of the next wet season.
The Edith flows into the Daly, the Territory's most popular fishing river.
The effluent is enough to fill 5600 Olympic swimming pools and contains metals including cadmium, which causes birth defects.
The 10.3 gigalitres in the Batman Pit (RP3) is being treated with finely crushed lime to raise the pH level from acid to neutral, causing most of the dissolved metals to fall out as sediment.
In its first major decision, the new NT Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) has given a licence to US mining company Vista Gold to pump more than 14 gigalitres of contaminated mine water into the Edith River by the end of the next wet season.
The Edith flows into the Daly, the Territory's most popular fishing river.
The effluent is enough to fill 5600 Olympic swimming pools and contains metals including cadmium, which causes birth defects.
The 10.3 gigalitres in the Batman Pit (RP3) is being treated with finely crushed lime to raise the pH level from acid to neutral, causing most of the dissolved metals to fall out as sediment.
Do environmental assessments protect the environment? – Features – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Do environmental assessments protect the environment? – Features – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):
"Government and industry don't want to admit there is a real conflict of interest in government issuing exploration licences and earning [the government] hundreds of millions of dollars, and then it turns around and says that it can independently assess the mine project," he says.
Andrew Macintosh - Associate Director of the Australian National University's Centre for Climate Law and Policy - says EIAs are as much about public consultation as they are about improving environmental outcomes. On that question, he feels the EIA process also leaves a lot to be desired.
"The problem is that public participation sounds nice in theory and a lot of people support it in theory, but in practice it isn't working," Macintosh says.
To begin with, the EIA reports, which are required to be made available for public comment before a decision is made on a project, are often inaccessible.
"The public gets 30 days to make comment on an EIA that can be up to 5,000 pages long, which is completely unrealistic," he says. "A lot of them are standardised documents, and they just basically fill in the gaps, so the reader is often faced with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pages of gumpf."
"Government and industry don't want to admit there is a real conflict of interest in government issuing exploration licences and earning [the government] hundreds of millions of dollars, and then it turns around and says that it can independently assess the mine project," he says.
Andrew Macintosh - Associate Director of the Australian National University's Centre for Climate Law and Policy - says EIAs are as much about public consultation as they are about improving environmental outcomes. On that question, he feels the EIA process also leaves a lot to be desired.
"The problem is that public participation sounds nice in theory and a lot of people support it in theory, but in practice it isn't working," Macintosh says.
To begin with, the EIA reports, which are required to be made available for public comment before a decision is made on a project, are often inaccessible.
"The public gets 30 days to make comment on an EIA that can be up to 5,000 pages long, which is completely unrealistic," he says. "A lot of them are standardised documents, and they just basically fill in the gaps, so the reader is often faced with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pages of gumpf."
‘When we looked at the sum total of that work, we
had a pile of EIA reports, probably up to 1.5 metres high, and of all of
that paper, less than 80 pages was addressing the social domain, and
most of that was addressing issues of employment and economic
development.’
According to Prof. Howitt, the assessments neglected
to address a huge range of issues, such as the impact of rapid changes
in housing prices and accessibility, the price of local goods and
services, the impacts on social exclusion of local Aboriginal
Australians, and the impacts on Aboriginal Australian culture in the
area.
‘Even [taking] the narrow view that the environment
is about non-human elements, that piecemeal approach is potentially
catastrophic in periods of dramatic change.’
Prof. Howitt also says the environmental impact
assessment process has a poor track record of follow-up after a project
has gone ahead.
‘Once you’ve got a project approval, there’s a very
poor history of going back and checking whether the impacts that were
predicted have occurred or haven't occurred, and whether the impact
management processes proposed have been adequate or need to be reviewed.
‘We might at best get a five-year review, but five
years of social catastrophe is a generation in most Aboriginal
communities – it’s a disaster.’
Part of the problem is that the experts contracted
to undertake EIAs tend to be scientific experts on engineering,
hydrology or ecology, for example, but not the social domain.
A whole industry has sprung up around EIAs, with
consultants who specialise in these assessments. Assoc. Prof. Macintosh
says there are some extremely competent experts in the industry, but
they are hamstrung by a shortage of time and resources.
‘When people have actually looked at how accurate
these assessments are, they have found a significant gap between the
predicted impacts and actual impacts. The reports have predicted that x
was going to happen, when in fact, the impact was y,’ he says.
‘When you think about it, the inaccuracy in
predictions is not that startling. The contractors have to make
assessments about difficult- to-predict variables with little
information and compressed timeframes.
Broome community calls on Shell to protect burial grounds and to intervene to stop Woodside drilling works
The
Australian head of Shell, Ann Pickard, is in Broome today. Broome Community No Gas campaign is urging Shell to live up to
its claims of environmental and social responsibility and intervene to
prevent Woodside from drilling in an environmentally fragile and
culturally important area.
BROOME COMMUNITY NO GAS CAMPAIGN
Media release
|
The
Broome Community are calling on Shell to intervene in Woodside’s planned
drilling and excavation works which form part of its push to develop gas
refineries at James Price Point on the Kimberley
coast.
The
plans have caused uproar in the Broome community because of the damage that
would be caused to a fragile environment which includes an endangered
threatened ecological community recently listed for protection by the
Australian Government under federal environment laws[1].
The drilling area is also an Aboriginal burial ground which is full of
culturally sensitive sites. Both the
Broome Community NO GAS Campaign and the Goolarabooloo family have written to
Minister Burke asking him to use his powers under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 to protect the planned drilling sites and the Song Cycle pathway
that they are part of.
“We
know Shell prefers the option of a floating platform to process gas offshore
rather than destroying the Kimberley
coast,” said Jan Lewis spokesperson for the Broome Community No Gas Campaign.
Woodside
are planning to drill and excavate a sensitive coastal area as part of its
investigations into building a port and marine facilities to export LNG from
proposed refineries at James Price Point.
“Woodside
does not need to do this destructive work to inform a final investment decision,
but they aren’t listening to the Broome community. As we note that Shell claims to ‘meet the world's growing demand for energy in
economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways’ [2]
we’re asking Shell to step in and encourage
Woodside to do the right thing,” Ms Lewis said.
“Because
we believe that destroying the dunes is neither environmentally nor socially
responsible, the Broome community is gearing up to protect James Price Point
from the drilling” said Ms Lewis.
Shell
owns 24% of Woodside and has a 27% share in the Browse LNG Joint Venture which
is exploring the option of building gas refineries at James Price Point to
process its Browse
Basin gas.
Shell’s
preference for floating facilities has been frequently touted in the media by
Australian head Ann Pickard and is supported as a less destructive option by
the Broome community NO GAS campaign. .
Shell
CEO Ann Pickard is in Broome today to launch a new ship that will service its
Prelude gas fields where a floating platform will process 3.5 million tonnes
per annum of LNG.
Media Contact
Jan
Lewis mobile no 0439 979 589 Photo attached © Damian Kelly
Pipe Down on Vimeo
Pipe Down on Vimeo: Pipe Down is an hour long documentary that tells the story of a rural community in Co. Mayo in Ireland, who have been battling the oil giant Shell over their plans to put a dangerous raw gas pipeline through the community and complete construction of a gas processing terminal that is a threat to their delicate environment.
The documentary features interviews with Colin Joyce of Shell Ireland; Willie Corduff, a local farmer & one of the Rossport Five; Pat O'Donnell, a local fisherman; Gerry Coyle, a County Councillor for the area (Fine Gael); Eoin O'Leidhin & Diane Amber, activists with the Shell-to-Sea group; Terence Conway, a spokesperson for the Shell-to-Sea group; and Niall Harnett, who co-ordinates the solidarity camp in the area.
The documentary features interviews with Colin Joyce of Shell Ireland; Willie Corduff, a local farmer & one of the Rossport Five; Pat O'Donnell, a local fisherman; Gerry Coyle, a County Councillor for the area (Fine Gael); Eoin O'Leidhin & Diane Amber, activists with the Shell-to-Sea group; Terence Conway, a spokesperson for the Shell-to-Sea group; and Niall Harnett, who co-ordinates the solidarity camp in the area.
Woodside sees growing merits of CNG over LNG | News | Business Spectator
Woodside sees growing merits of CNG over LNG | News | Business Spectator:
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said CNG technology is now cost competitive with LNG for markets within 2,000 kilometres of the gas field.
“CNG has particular attraction to us in areas where markets are close, and could be a potential for us to use in the Mediterranean,” Mr Coleman told The Australian. “We're looking at it off the west coast of Australia too – there are some deepwater assets that are a long way from current infrastructure we may be able to use CNG for, and it also opens up some of the smaller fields around Asia.”
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said CNG technology is now cost competitive with LNG for markets within 2,000 kilometres of the gas field.
“CNG has particular attraction to us in areas where markets are close, and could be a potential for us to use in the Mediterranean,” Mr Coleman told The Australian. “We're looking at it off the west coast of Australia too – there are some deepwater assets that are a long way from current infrastructure we may be able to use CNG for, and it also opens up some of the smaller fields around Asia.”
Thursday, March 7, 2013
PM - WA waives carbon emission restrictions on gas project 05/03/2013
PM - WA waives carbon emission restrictions on gas project 05/03/2013:
They are the largest single component of emissions, and obviously with projected projects coming on stream, will lift WA into the region of being about three times our emission level from 1995, which is the benchmark year.
Browse would be most probably the single next largest thing to come on stream and you have to remember that what we do with our gas is we turn into LNG and that process in itself generates a significant amount of CO2 emissions.
They are the largest single component of emissions, and obviously with projected projects coming on stream, will lift WA into the region of being about three times our emission level from 1995, which is the benchmark year.
Browse would be most probably the single next largest thing to come on stream and you have to remember that what we do with our gas is we turn into LNG and that process in itself generates a significant amount of CO2 emissions.
EPBC Act environmental offsets policy
Australia's "patently weak" environmental laws should be toughened, not weakened in line with the demands of big business.
EPBC Act environmental offsets policy
The coal, gas/oil industries and the coal seam gas industry have minister Burke and governments dancing on a pull of their strings. In this current climate, in a year of elections you would think as a nation we would be strengthening and reenforcing our environmental and heritage laws. While people all over this nation are rallying to ensure the protection of the environment against the hording invading international corporate barbarians and our government have very different plans.
Back in Dec 2012, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was forced to tell business leaders that negotiations to strike handover deals with each of the states had hit legal complications and state processes that failed federal environmental standards. So what has changed in 3 months that they are now again planning to eradicating ''green tape'' and pushing these controversial plans to hand over environmental decision-making to the states.
EPBC Act environmental offsets policy
The coal, gas/oil industries and the coal seam gas industry have minister Burke and governments dancing on a pull of their strings. In this current climate, in a year of elections you would think as a nation we would be strengthening and reenforcing our environmental and heritage laws. While people all over this nation are rallying to ensure the protection of the environment against the hording invading international corporate barbarians and our government have very different plans.
Back in Dec 2012, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was forced to tell business leaders that negotiations to strike handover deals with each of the states had hit legal complications and state processes that failed federal environmental standards. So what has changed in 3 months that they are now again planning to eradicating ''green tape'' and pushing these controversial plans to hand over environmental decision-making to the states.
CALL TO COUNTRY - YouTube
Red --
Right now, all around this mighty continent, the people are rising. We have united together in the greatest social movement this country has ever seen, and we are ready to stand up and fight for the future of this great big backyard of ours.
For too long our Federal Parliament has hidden behind the states. For too long they have shirked their responsibilities to protect this country and its people. Today we are demanding national reforms to control reckless coal and gas expansion across the continent.
3. Strengthen the Federal environment laws to exclude coal and gas mining from important water sources, cultural heritage sites and sensitive environment areas.
4. Put in place national standards on coal and gas pollution and enforce compliance.
5. Stop using taxpayers' money to provide handouts to big coal and gas corporations and make the miners pay their fair share in taxes.
6. Reject current development proposals for coal ports, mega-mines, dams and unconventional gas wells in significant areas.
7. Conduct research into greenhouse gas emissions from mining and make sure they are properly accounted and fully paid for.
8. Hold a Royal Commission to investigate the management of coal and gas resources by all Australian governments.
Today we have launched our Call to Country. It's a call from the heart of
this country, from us, the people who love it, to demand real action
to restrict inappropriate coal and gas mining.
Our new mapping shows that 437 million
hectares of our land is covered by coal and gas licences or
applications. That's more than half of
Australia and an area 18 times the size of Great Britain.
Even our greatest international tourist icons are not safe, with at
least 11 of our 16 National Landscapes at threat.
Today, our Call to Country will be plastered to the window or
pinned to the door of almost every federal electorate in Australia.
But this is just the beginning.
We're asking you to take our Call To Country and meet with your Federal Member of Parliament. Our Federal politicians have shirked their responsibilities for too long - but they have the power to act and now they need to use it.
CALL TO COUNTRY - YouTube: We're asking you to take our Call To Country and meet with your Federal Member of Parliament. Our Federal politicians have shirked their responsibilities for too long - but they have the power to act and now they need to use it.
Right now, all around this mighty continent, the people are rising. We have united together in the greatest social movement this country has ever seen, and we are ready to stand up and fight for the future of this great big backyard of ours.
For too long our Federal Parliament has hidden behind the states. For too long they have shirked their responsibilities to protect this country and its people. Today we are demanding national reforms to control reckless coal and gas expansion across the continent.
We call on the federal government to:
1. Put in place an urgent moratorium on coal seam gas and other unconventional gas mining. 2. Create no-go zones to protect productive agricultural land, national tourism icons and all residential dwellings from coal and gas mining.3. Strengthen the Federal environment laws to exclude coal and gas mining from important water sources, cultural heritage sites and sensitive environment areas.
4. Put in place national standards on coal and gas pollution and enforce compliance.
5. Stop using taxpayers' money to provide handouts to big coal and gas corporations and make the miners pay their fair share in taxes.
6. Reject current development proposals for coal ports, mega-mines, dams and unconventional gas wells in significant areas.
7. Conduct research into greenhouse gas emissions from mining and make sure they are properly accounted and fully paid for.
8. Hold a Royal Commission to investigate the management of coal and gas resources by all Australian governments.
Why would anyone want to destroy this?
Why would anyone want to destroy this?:
If you travel to the far north-west of Australia, you’ll find a town called Broome waving casually at Asia atop blushing red cliffs kissed by turquoise sea. You’ll see a town inhabited by powdery people. They have red dirt stuck in the cracks of their feet and eyes that crease like dry river beds. The first thing you’ll notice is that many of these people are in love with the land.
Not love in that cliched "nature lover" kind of way. I mean love in the sense of something torrid, exquisitely painful, and strewn with obstacles. A love that makes people surrender the self for a higher good. Love lies behind one of Australia’s most extraordinary local battles against global resource companies. It’s a battle for the soul of Broome fought on the beaches of James Price Point.
Would you want a gas company digging up the graves of your parents? She told me that James Price Point is a source of bush food and a part of their song cycle; a dynamic law governing relations between people, and people and land that has survived colonisation. Speaking in non-native English, Teresa was eloquent in describing her connection to country.
Where Teresa was lucid, the people of Broome simply blubbered. Eyes were brimful or splashing with tears, lips quavered and deep intakes of breath were drawn. Unlike Teresa, the non-Indigenous inhabitants I interviewed lacked a vocabulary to describe their connection to land. Why? Because Western civilisation has done a fantastic job of separating us from nature. We have no language to describe the transcendental forces that our connection to earth can summon, and so we turn to a culturally validated form of spiritual connection. We turn to the language of love.
The people of Broome cry because words fail. They weep in the same way as lovers weep when asked to describe their emotions at the prospect of separation. "Words cannot contain my feelings" we say. And so the body steps in. Tears speak feelings that words diminish.
And yet the task of love is to attempt description. Louise, a local campaigner, asked me to forgive her for her scattered thoughts, as she looked away and then lovingly described the body of her amour. "When I think of James Price Point" she said, "I can smell the tea tree, feel the shade of the remnant rainforest. I can taste the fish. I could dream it from wherever I was in the world. I knew I was safe there." She told me of the contours of dinosaur footprints etched in the rocks and wept at the thought that Woodside could take this from her. Love is always set ablaze by impending loss.
If you travel to the far north-west of Australia, you’ll find a town called Broome waving casually at Asia atop blushing red cliffs kissed by turquoise sea. You’ll see a town inhabited by powdery people. They have red dirt stuck in the cracks of their feet and eyes that crease like dry river beds. The first thing you’ll notice is that many of these people are in love with the land.
 |
| Dave Smith's photo |
Would you want a gas company digging up the graves of your parents? She told me that James Price Point is a source of bush food and a part of their song cycle; a dynamic law governing relations between people, and people and land that has survived colonisation. Speaking in non-native English, Teresa was eloquent in describing her connection to country.
Where Teresa was lucid, the people of Broome simply blubbered. Eyes were brimful or splashing with tears, lips quavered and deep intakes of breath were drawn. Unlike Teresa, the non-Indigenous inhabitants I interviewed lacked a vocabulary to describe their connection to land. Why? Because Western civilisation has done a fantastic job of separating us from nature. We have no language to describe the transcendental forces that our connection to earth can summon, and so we turn to a culturally validated form of spiritual connection. We turn to the language of love.
The people of Broome cry because words fail. They weep in the same way as lovers weep when asked to describe their emotions at the prospect of separation. "Words cannot contain my feelings" we say. And so the body steps in. Tears speak feelings that words diminish.
And yet the task of love is to attempt description. Louise, a local campaigner, asked me to forgive her for her scattered thoughts, as she looked away and then lovingly described the body of her amour. "When I think of James Price Point" she said, "I can smell the tea tree, feel the shade of the remnant rainforest. I can taste the fish. I could dream it from wherever I was in the world. I knew I was safe there." She told me of the contours of dinosaur footprints etched in the rocks and wept at the thought that Woodside could take this from her. Love is always set ablaze by impending loss.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Analysis: James Price Point ... dead before dying | WA Business News
Analysis: James Price Point ... dead before dying | WA Business News:
Political and environmental pressure on the state government, whichever side wins on Saturday, will have no effect on the future of the onshore gas processing centre proposed for James Price Point in the Kimberley – the global gas glut has already killed it.
No-one in government will admit that is the case but you only have to look at what’s been happening in Japan and the U.S. to see the problem for all Australian gas-export projects.
In a few words, Australia has priced itself out of the market with a domestic cost structure that is amongst the highest in the world, just as the price of globally-traded LNG starts to fall.
That’s why companies proposing to develop LNG projects off the WA coast are shelving plans drawn up over the past few years and casting around for cheaper options, with the current leader being floating barge technology of the sort Shell is building for its Prelude gas deposit off the Kimberley coast.
Political and environmental pressure on the state government, whichever side wins on Saturday, will have no effect on the future of the onshore gas processing centre proposed for James Price Point in the Kimberley – the global gas glut has already killed it.
No-one in government will admit that is the case but you only have to look at what’s been happening in Japan and the U.S. to see the problem for all Australian gas-export projects.
In a few words, Australia has priced itself out of the market with a domestic cost structure that is amongst the highest in the world, just as the price of globally-traded LNG starts to fall.
That’s why companies proposing to develop LNG projects off the WA coast are shelving plans drawn up over the past few years and casting around for cheaper options, with the current leader being floating barge technology of the sort Shell is building for its Prelude gas deposit off the Kimberley coast.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Bob Brown Speaking at a Broome No Gas forum
Published on Mar 4, 2013
Bob Brown Speaking to a packed
Broome No Gas forum in the lead up to the WA state election on the
importance of land, culture and defending the Kimberley against
industrialisation and mining corporations.
To get involved with the Broome no gas campaign: http://www.broomenogas.org/
For more news about environmental campaigns: http://www.greenleft.org.au/
To get involved with the Broome no gas campaign: http://www.broomenogas.org/
For more news about environmental campaigns: http://www.greenleft.org.au/
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