by Marion Egger

A great injustice is being done in the Kimberley right now.

Woodside and the Barnett Government have broken a blockade set up by families from the Goolarabooloo and Jabbirr-Jabbir people, (TO’s for the James Price Point area) as well as Yawuru people and long term residents of Broome in protest against the clearing of land on a registered Aboriginal Heritage site (Walmadan). Under section 16 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act, this is illegal without a permit provided by the Department for Indigenous Affairs. This has been ignored by Woodside and the Barnett government. The clearing of land at Walmadan is an illegal act.

 

If you are a Western Australian tax payer, your taxes contributed to paying for Woodside's police security, not Woodside!!

 

On July 5th, 50 members of the TRG from Perth in black uniforms joined forces with 30 Broome Police, formed lines, pushed, knocked to the ground and arrested 25 members of the 200 strong group at the blockade on the Manari Road north of Broome. Their bullying tactics were indiscriminate of age, disability or gender. They allowed bulldozers and Woodside contractors to commence clearing 25 hectares at Walmadan.

Woodside and the Barnett-led Government continue to push ahead with plans for an enormous gas processing plant at James Price Point with its kilometres and billions of tonnes of jetties and groynes, emissions on a greater scale than all of the industrial development in Kwinana and a social impact that will change Broome for the worse, forever. The proposal is for the biggest gas processing facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

The awful scenes at the blockade may lead to some positive outcomes however.

Despite the rhetoric, this project is not a ‘done deal’. It does not have the support of the majority of the Aboriginal Community in areas affected by the development. The recent ‘yes’ vote by the native title claimant group has been criticised for excluding many TO’s. The result of the vote was about 160 yes and 108 no votes. The vote was cast under the threat of compulsory acquisition- if you sign this we’ll do it, if you don’t we’ll do it any way. There was no vote or consultation with the Yawuru People of the Broome area or those on the Dampier Peninsular whose lifestyle, wellbeing, land and economy will be severely impacted by any development at JPP. These people are now saying loudly and clearly ‘No Gas on the Kimberley Coast’. 

Some other relevant points:

• The ‘deal’ that was done with some TO’s provides for education, health and housing. Things that the rest of Australia take for granted.
• There are no international examples of an industrial facility that has provided positive outcomes for Indigenous people.
• There has been no final investment decision by Woodside.
• There has been no approval by the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke
• The other joint-venture partners (Shell, Chevron, BP etc) have publicly said that they would prefer to either pipe the gas to existing Pilbara facilities or process the gas offshore.
• Economic Analysts have put the entire project on shaky ground due to global uncertainty and a potential oversupply of gas.

People at the blockade are not the ‘serial protestors’ that Mr Barnett would have you believe, they are committed Broome and Kimberley residents passionate about protecting the Kimberley from such large scale and destructive industrialisation as the proposed gas plant. Tonight 300 members of the Broome Community attended a candle-lit vigil outside the offices of Woodside, organised with only 3 hours notice. Yesterday Broome residents, Mitch Torres, Alan and Steve Pigram, and Dr Anne Poelina met with federal ministers to deliver a petition and voice their opposition to the plan. The news of the protests was broadcast as far away as the United Kingdom.

Recently 600 members of ‘Old Broome Families’ (organised by Mitch, Steve, Alan and Anne above) met to voice their opposition to the project. Many people in Broome that have been unsure about the project have been galvanised into action as news of the sheer scale of the development, the tangible Aboriginal opposition to the gas plant and the awful treatment of protesters is revealed. There is talk of another Nookenbah.

Still waters run deep. 

The Broome Community with support from further afield can stop this madness.

YOU CAN HELP by doing the following:

If you need to know more, watch the Youtube clip http://www.youtube.com/watchv=r34uDl8EqCY&feature=related that shows some of the awful events of yesterday, visit Environs Kimberley and Save the Kimberley pages on Facebook to get more info and updates. (There are some attachments to read too) 

Vote for GetUp to make this a national campaign http://suggest.getup.org.au/forums/60819-getup-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1896595-stopping-proposed-gas-refinery-at-james-price-poin?ref=title <http://suggest.getup.org.au/forums/60819-getup-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1896595-stopping-proposed-gas-refinery-at-james-price-poin?ref=title>

Write 1 or more letters (see http://www.environskimberley.org.au/kimberley-conservation-campaigns-projects/conservation-campaigns/james-price-point-kimberley-ga/help-protect-the-kimberley-today/)

Know that it is OK to defend what you believe is worth it and that some things are worth defending.

Thanks for your support.

Broome families say No to the gas hub from The Wilderness Society on Vimeo.