Elders 'pressured into James Price Pt decision'

16 May 2011, 5:19 pm   -   By: Jenny Curtis
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Environmentalists say it would make more sense to process LNG in the Pilbara region, or using floating LNG technology. (Chiara Pazzano, SBS)

Environmentalists say it would make more sense to process LNG in the Pilbara region, or using floating LNG technology. (Chiara Pazzano, SBS)

Traditional owners of James Price Point near Broome say they were rushed into the decision to approve a massive gas plant on their land by the WA government's threat to compulsorily acquire the land. 

Traditional owners 'rushed' over project approval

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Traditional owners of James Price Point near Broome say they were rushed into the decision to approve a massive gas plant on their land by the WA government's threat to compulsorily acquire the land.

The first talks about the plan began in 2005 when the WA Labor government announced it would invest in a gas hub in the Kimberley region.

The Woodside company came on board and began searching for a suitable site.

Today it's a joint venture including BHP, Shell and Chevron. 

James Price Point was selected, but the move was not welcomed by many of the traditional owners, the Jabirr Jabirr and Goolarabooloo people, who were concerned about the impact on their land.

The Kimberley Land Council was appointed to represent native title claimants and keep them as best informed as possible throughout negotiations. 

Wayne Bergmann, the director for the KLC, says the dynamics of those talks changed dramatically in 2008.

"The Liberal-National Government came into power, which then pulled the rug under us... Colin Barnett as Premier said, sorry, this is a decision for governments. We won't let this decision rest with Aboriginal people, but we'll invest in a process to get an agreement". 

Wayne Barker is the co-chair of the Traditional owners negotiating committee.

He says the attitude of the new Coalition government put a time bomb right in the heart of the negotiating process.

"It put us against the wall really. It was negotiations basically with a gun to our head; you will have to negotiate. It doesn't allow us to negotiate until finality; when we're all exhausted or when we get to a point when we can actually say, this is the best deal we can possibly get," he told SBS.

Because the time was ticking under the compulsory acquisition regime, it didn't allow us to enjoy that space. So we were constantly threatened by the State Government just taking our country, if they didn't take the country anyway". 

It's a sentiment echoed by the Kimberley Land Council's Wayne Bergmann.

"It certainly punctured the tyres on the vehicle that we and the integrity of the process we had originally set up, and as a result of calling it, it's gone over a year and a half through this process, coming up to two years I think, with the Premier threatening compulsory acquisition," he told SBS.

"There's something not nice about a compulsory acquisition process, where the premier is laying down threats and you're trying to get an informed decision making process."

The State Government gave the Kimberley Land Council around $17-million to pay for the negotiating process; a move some have argued was bribery, placing excessive pressure on the council to ensure traditional owners agreed to the gas hub. 

But Wayne Bergmann says the money was imperative so land owners could be given the best information possible about both the project. 

"We paid for the best lawyers to get the best gas experts, the best environmental scientists. We had one of the best social impact teams in Australia doing studies, and we had to carry out a lot of work associated with the project; heritage clearances, environmental studies.

"They are all parts, nuts and bolts of making a decision so it's ludicrous to say that way influenced people's decision making". 

A compensation package, was put on the table, worth about $1.5 billion over the life of the project. 

It includes funding for new homes, economic development, jobs and education.

In addition the State Government has promised there will be no further construction of LNG plants on the Kimberley coastline.

Traditional owners finally voted 60-40 in favour of the deal.

Wayne Barker, from the Traditional owners negotiating committee, says a large proportion believe it's time to embrace this level of economic development in the Kimberley.
             
"Our community has struggles like all those other Indigenous communities around this country. What we're trying to do is trying to get our head space and our thinking into change, and we've got to change it on the basis of what we can do now," he told SBS.

"And that is a big ask of people who've been recipients of welfare, struggled in dysfunctional communities, dealing with an oppressive lifestyle, It's really hard for people and I think, yes there is change, change is scary but at the same time do we stay where we are at the status quo and watch our people die around us".

Kimberley Land Council director, Wayne Bergman, believes it's a good deal.

"There is no package like this in Australia or in the world that deals with these issues so comprehensively, and also I believe it was the informed decision of traditional owners, who exercised a vote, that voted 60 percent to 40 percent in favour of moving forward".

However, Wayne Barker, says the whole process, which dragged over six years in total, has left the traditional owners exhausted.

"Alongside of all of that we continue to have suicides and old people passing away and a whole lot of stress and it was awful and we're still reeling. We feel like we've been in 12-rounds of a boxing match with a heavyweight champion of the world. It really knocked us for six".

The next stage is for the State and Federal Governments to give the site development their final approval and for Woodside and its joint venture partners to release their investment plan.

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Your Comments

Miss

kerry Firkin - from Corlette, 10 months ago

I hate waht Colin Barnett is doing to the Kimberley he is not fit to run a chook raffel let alone the State of WA

Not self determination Mr Premier

Daron Keogh - from Fitzroy Crossing, 1 year

Colin Barnett and the whole WA Liberal Party ought to spend time on an Aboriginal community to experience first hand their style of self determinaton. Gag them so they are denied a forum for their voice, blindfold them so to deny the opportunity to see what really goes on, tie their hands behind his back so they cannot do things for themself, then whip the backs of their legs until they nod in agreement.

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