Walmadany needs a voice

FRIDAY MARCH 27th 2009
MALE OVAL, CHINATOWN, BROOME
NO ALCOHOL

featuring
PIGRAM BROTHERS
JOHN BUTLER
SCRAP METAL
KUCKLES
SHANE HOWARD
ERNIE DINGO
ROB HIRST (midnight oil)
PATRICK DAVIES
WIL THOMAS & THE HOPEFUL 3
NAOMI PIGRAM
ANGUS GRANT (scotland)
TONCHI MCINTOSH
KIMBERLEY RIDERS

FREE ENTRY from 4pm
Donations gratefully accepted at entrance/exit gate to help cover costs of concert

Law Keeper and Custodian for the Goolarabooloo heritage, Joseph Roe, has asked the Pigram Brothers and friends to create this cultural celebration - Walmadany Concert for Heritage

The WA State Government have said they will build a gas processing precinct at Walmadany (James Price Point) 60 km north of Broome on the Kimberley coast and are even prepared to compulsorily acquire this land.
Apart from the obvious environmental and social impact of such proposed industrialization, this event hopes to draw attention to the significant social and cultural values at stake in Broome should this development proceed.

Excerpt from the invitation to artists :

The law and song cycles of Walmadany (James Price Point) are not ancient dreamtime history. This law has been kept alive through my grandfather Paddy Roe and now through me. If the threatened development goes ahead our Country is gone for good. Our Country holds our heritage including burial sites, and most importantly the Song Cycle that runs through this country from the north of the Dampier Peninsula from Burringbarr (Swan Point) to Wabbina (Bidyadanga) Your voice can help draw attention to this great plight and help protect our ancient and sacred song cycles Bugarigaara (Dreamtime)........JOSEPH ROE, LAW KEEPER & CUSTODIAN GOOLARABOOLOO

Organiser, Alan Pigram said the event was not a protest concert, but rather a celebration of Price's Point and its cultural significance.

"My concern is for that country, not anything else really, it's not opposition to gas or other development, but THAT COUNTRY NEEDS A VOICE,'' he said.

Alan Pigram said Prices Point had played a big role in his life and that of his family.

One of the proudest things for me when these artists come to town is to take them up that coastline, it's part of our lifestyle to do that, the pride in being able to to that, to show them that area and to tell them all the stories," he said

Traditional owners aim for LNG deal

A committee was elected representing traditional owners from the area (Goolarabooloo and Jabirr-Jabirr) around the proposed LNG processing site at Prices Point to negotiate a deal with the State Government and Woodside which includes:
• Long term jobs ands benefits
• Traditional owners want to be economic partners not victims to be compensated.
The Committee will report back to the wider traditional owner group at the end of March for a decision whether to continue negotiations. A final agreement is not expected to be reached until the end of the year.
Premier Barnett wants an agreement by March 31st after which he will consider compulsory acquisition.

Fly in, fly out politicians

Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls came with a 'fly in fly out' visit to tell us that 'more people could get to know the Kimberley if a gas hub was built.'

At the same time Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson lobbed in for a one day visit to inform us that:

• An LNG hub would not be bad for tourism - will only take a small area of land - be environmentally clean and employ a couple of hundred people.
• An LNG hub would help overcome indigenous disadvantage through investment in communities.

As Robert Vaughan wrote in the Advertiser on Feb 12th - "Broome would be well advised to take a good look at the train wreck BHP left at Ravensthorpe."

ALP Broome Branch rejects gas hub

'The ALP Broome Branch does not support the location of a gas processing hub in the Kimberley and surrounding waters.' 16th December 2008

Gas information forum - 27th/28th March

The Shire has endorsed a $30,000 budget line to support and organise a community forum on the Gas issue. This forum will invite all groups including, the Chamber, the Airport, Woodside and other Resource companies, Dept of Resources and non Government Agencies such as environmental groups.
The idea of the forum is to provide the community with a one stop forum to get a range of information on the issue and to have those questions answered.
The forum will be held on 27/28 March and all environmental groups will be invited to participate.
Hopefully this forum will be an opportunity for the people of Broome to hear all sides of the issue.

Other LNG gas options are being considered.

"Given the high level of environmental concern about gas processing developments on the Kimberley coastline, the various Browse Basin (companies) are increasingly considering
either floating development options (like Royal Dutch Shell and Nexus energy) or a tie
back to exisisting infrastructure.

Woodside will decide by the end of June whether to construct a pipeline to link its Browse Basin fields to existing liquefied natural gas plants on the Burrup Peninsula.

Should the WA Govenment proposed Kimberley LNG hub concept fail then (other
companies) would be expected to follow the lead by Inpex and pipe any Browse
Basin gas to Darwin." Source: "The West Australian" Jan 26th 2009

Will Woodside shelve Prices Point?

Interesting that Woodside have blamed souring market conditions for shelving two natural gas projects recently. Natural gas futures in New York have dropped 57% in the past 6 months and crude oil prices have plunged 74%. Woodside Natural Gas - a US unit of Perth based Woodside Petroleum had suspended its proposed natural gas import project for the LA region. "We must acknowledge the impact of the current market ...... we are withdrawing our application for the time being," Woodside Natural Gas president said. Meanwhile, BG group, Britain's third largest natural gas producer has cancelled plans to build a $750 million power plant in Australia. Market analysts are predicting a poor year for Woodside during 2009 due to difficulty in raising capital and the low price of fossil fuels.
Does this mean anything for the development of Prices Point - we can only wait and see.