James Price Point in the Kimberley of Western Australia is the site of a battle over a bid to develop a gas hub. Photo: Angela Wylie
I write as someone who is not a fundamentalist, environmental, economic, political or otherwise. I'm not anti-development. If anything, I am a common "sense-ist".
If a government or corporation can develop a given region or resource in an appropriate way, by all means go for it. If not? Sorry but no can do.
The Browse Basin gas fields off the coast of Broome can be exploited to the economic benefit of the country and its citizens without destroying one of the most pristine places on this planet, by piping down to existing facilities in the Pilbara or processing it off shore.
Police watch as during a protest against plans to develop a gas hub at James Price Point near Broome in WA.
For a 30-year economic benefit, would we mine Uluru? Would we drill on the Great Barrier Reef? Would we allow any of our iconic locations — say Bondi Beach or Sydney Harbour — to be taken by force by a government intent on mining it? No. None of us would.
Yet this is exactly what could happen in the Kimberley with the proposed gas refinery at James Price Point just north of Broome. We are at risk of losing one of our most unspoiled and iconic places.
Western Australia premier Colin Barnett has gone on record saying "the Pilbara has supported WA for the last 50 years and the Kimberley will support us the next 50 years". It's clear that his plans for James Price Point are just the thin end of the wedge for his vision of an industrialised Kimberley.
Environmentally it's madness to clear up to 25 square kilometres of native vegetation, including tracts of rainforest that are home to already endangered species, on an unspoiled coastline that is refuge for migrating whales and endangered sea turtles. It's madness to dredge 50 square kilometres of sea bed to build an export port that would create a marine ''dead zone'' when there are viable alternative sites in parts of the WA coast that are already industrialised. Quite apart from air pollution and enormous greenhouse emissions – 20 per cent of WA’s total emissions would come from this project alone, it will also be extremely thirsty with more than 30 billion litres of wastewater pumped each year into the untouched waters north of Broome.
Economically, it's true that the Woodside gas refinery might provide up to 8000 jobs during construction but once finished the plant will need only about 300 full-time employees to operate. Destroying one of the most beautiful corners of the world to provide 300 jobs, while compromising other local industries, including tourism and pearling, makes no economic sense at all considering there are alternatives. Tourism is a huge part of the Kimberley’s economy, yet to reach its full potential. As a point of comparison the Great Barrier Reef is worth $2 billion in tourism per year, while the proponents of this plant are boasting the groundbreaking deal with the indigenous people of the area that will pay them $1 billion over 30 years.
On a social impact front, when Premier Barnett threatened ''compulsory acquisition'' of land on which to build the proposed gas refinery, he invalidated the negotiation process and virtually put a ''gun to the head'' of every traditional owner in the region, rekindling an imperialistic attitude harking back more than 200 years.
This proposal has been sugar-coated as being the saviour to the indigenous people of the region: providing them with a ''last chance'' economic opportunity to secure better housing, health and schooling. These are rights that every Australian is entitled to and they should never be held to ransom in return for a citizen’s land and culture.
This proposal has divided the indigenous and wider Broome community, turning families against each other in the name of so-called "opportunity". Some traditional owners have had their applications for native title claims cancelled as a result of their opposition to the proposal. My good friend, Senior Law Boss and custodian for James Price Point, Joseph Roe, who is responsible for a heritage cultural trail that runs through the proposed refinery site, is one of them.
But out of this division, a growing sense of unity and resolution is developing as the Broome community stand together and fight to preserve their unique land and culture. Local campaigners are determined to ensure that Broome does not become another fly-in, fly-out mining town with the raft of social problems that would inevitably bring. They're determined to protect what is special and unique about Broome and the Kimberley.
This is not a done deal: Woodside's joint venture partners Shell, BP and Chevron are crucial to this deal going through and are still unsure about their preferred site for the project. They haven't given this project final investment approval, nor have the state or federal governments given final environmental approvals.
Make no mistake: this is a national issue. This is yours, mine and our business. Don't let this be another case of us not knowing what we've got 'til it's gone. It's time to stand up and be counted.
John Butler is an award-winning independent musician who was raised in Western Australia. johnbutlertrio.com
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