Antinuclear

Kimberley gas hub an election issue – Compulsory Acquisition pressure on Aboriginal people

  The Barnett/Grylls government’s act of Compulsory Acquisition…is simply another episode in the dispossession of
Aboriginal people. Compulsory acquisition can never promote nor lead
to self-determination. By no measure was the James Price Point Native
Title Agreement made with ‘free, prior and informed consent’,
consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.

The Greens say that it is morally wrong to use Compulsory Acquisition
to pressure native title holders to trade their country for services
and benefits that are entitlements of citizenship…….

Greens Candidate Chris Maher says the proposed Kimberley gas hub  is
the central election issue this year. Kimberley Page, 10 Jan 13, 
“But the election will be about more than just the gas hub; it will be
about a vision for the future of the Kimberley,” Mr Maher said. Chris
Maher
The Greens Candidate for the Kimberley. 8 January 2013 The central
issue for the Kimberley in this year’s WA State Election is the
proposed LNG processing factory at James Price Point, just north of
Broome. But the election will be about more than just the gas hub; it
will be about a vision for the future of the Kimberley…. We must not
be hoodwinked into accepting the Premier’s disingenuous claim that the
James Price Point industrial precinct will affect only a small
fraction of the Kimberley’s natural environment. Barnett knows, but
dares not say, that a substantial port built north of Broome would
open the floodgates for resource development throughout the region.

While Woodside is required to dismantle its gas processing facility at
the end of its 30-year lease, there is no such requirement or plan to
remove the deepwater harbour that would be constructed there.
Do people seriously believe that Buru Energy, Mitsubishi and Conoco
Phillips and other companies that have discovered huge reserves of
unconventional gas in the vast Canning Basin, to be extracted through
fracking, will not use this port to ship their gas?…….

Premier Barnett, supported by the National and Labor Parties, has
described the Traditional Owners’ decision to support the gas
development as the greatest act of Indigenous self-determination in
Australia’s history. Since 1788 Aboriginal people have been
systematically dispossessed of their traditional lands throughout
Australia. Much of that dispossession was aggressive and bloody. It
took more than two centuries for Australia to finally recognise at law
the rights of Indigenous people through Native Title in 1992. The
Barnett/Grylls government’s act of Compulsory Acquisition just 19
years later is simply another episode in the dispossession of
Aboriginal people. Compulsory acquisition can never promote nor lead
to self-determination. By no measure was the James Price Point Native
Title Agreement made with ‘free, prior and informed consent’,
consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
The Indigenous benefits package from the James Price Point Native
Title Agreement should be carefully scrutinised. One and a half
billion dollars may sounds a lot, but over 30 years it amounts to just
50 million a year to pay mainly for citizenship entitlements.
The Greens say that it is morally wrong to use Compulsory Acquisition
to pressure native title holders to trade their country for services
and benefits that are entitlements of citizenship…….
The whole environmental investigative and approval process concerning
JPP has been a sham. The final recommendation for approval of the
project was made by the EPA Chairman acting alone, after the four
other members removed themselves from the decision-making because all
of them had a conflict of interest. Modern civil society must be
underpinned by the integrity of institutions established by law to
safeguard our natural environment and the workings of our society. It
is clear that the environmental assessment surrounding the biggest
industrial development ever planned for Western Australia has been a
side show – a charade – and was never intended to counter a
predetermined decision to build this monstrous factory and port on the
Kimberley coast……
The Greens argue that public investment policies should be remodelled
so that funding is aligned to community needs and aspirations. With
more effective regional governance and accountability there can be
vastly improved outcomes. Royalty for Regions was originally a Greens
policy commitment to return wealth to regions such as the Kimberley.
We remain committed to this policy and will push for revenue to be
spent locally and wisely, not wasted subsidising mining exploration.
The greens support a future for the Kimberley that protects our
environmental and cultural economic assets, not an industrial
wasteland that will destroy one of the great regions of the earth….. http://www.kimberleypage.com.au/2013/01/election-issues-with-chris-maher/

January 10, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, politics, Western Australia