Save the Kimberley - Just watched 60min and we are in SHOCK

Curlyman.

It's all about money on one realy cares about saveing the kimberley

At a town meeting with Bob Baldwin MP I asked if the Federal Govt. going to do anything about the migration of the Cane Toad from Qld going into the Kakadu NP and beyond, I was laughed at by all and sundry and I felt humiliated, this was back in 2004.

Today, I read how the Cane Toad has not only gone past Kakadu but is now enroaching into WA and south to Alice Springs.
I don't feel smug, but I wish some pollies would listen to the little people who can see further than a million bucks

What an absolute load of rubbish....the areas of the Kimberly that they showed on tv are nowhere near where the proposed plant will be...this country is very rich in natural resources which are far in abundance of what we will ever need and if we do not sell it to the countries that do not have it they will / could ,come and take it anyway , the plant will be a mere pinprick on the coastline and all the eco studies will no doubt be done , and the protesters will try to hold it up and add to the cost of building it...jobs and income for the country are being created and we have people who do not like that....amazing

I have no problem with this issue or site.I do not understand your statement.."If you have ever been to this part of the coastline you will know there is no other place where you can see the blue ocean, the pristine white sand and the vivid red coastline"..I have seen 100's upon 100s of kilometres of Kimberley coastline similar to James Price Point. I see your message as "shock horror" and unrealistic. The gas has to come ashore, WA needs the jobs and employment and development opportunities...its a multi billion dollar development and will benefit WA workers and families for years.Can you please explain your comment..." Once the door is opened how can you ever stop it?"..what else do you know is in the pipeline...is the whole coastline in danger of development...I have visited and holidayed in the Kimberley and plan to return next year..I do not think this development will impinge on the public and apart from a relatively small localized and isolated area...will be irrelevant to most of us.I look forward to enjoying the Kimberley as I have always done and even working up there and assisting in the development of WA's assets.

Media has never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

As a general rule I find that the "Current Affairs Programmes" put out by the commercial stations seem to be mainly concerned with sensationalism. As someone who has both lived in and been visiting the Kimberley since 1963 I am appalled by this reporting. The gas plant will only utilise a very small portion of the coast line available - in fact I don't think that it could be quoted as a percentage (too small). Surely to goodness tourism, wild nature and industry can co-exist together in this vast section of Australia without being whipped into a sensational media frenzy.

John

Well guys, we can't have it both ways. If we want to own and drive our vehicles around the Kimberley and elsewhere in Oz then we have to accept that energy in the form of LPG and Natural Gas are going to be needed to manufacture them.

This processing plant really will occupy a minute area of real estate in a locality frequented by very few. And yes, I have been to this part of the coastline and I have also been to other locations where there is "blue ocean, pristine white sand, and vivid red coastline". Indeed, the Kimberley is possibly more at risk from tourists than from this proposed development.

As for "Once the door is opened how can you ever stop it? " The door was opened a couple of hundred years ago with European colonization of this great land. Are we to all pack-up and leave?

I,too just finished watching the "60seconds(minutes)" program on the Kimberley.
What a crock of*********.
The majority of the scenery shown was nowhere near the proposed Gas hub site which incidently is only 20sq Km in area. In the scheme of things, it is a tiny paddock in comparison to the rest of that magnificent area.

The time for protest was before the matter was settled but rather the experts at 60 Seconds chose to show areas nowhere near the place in question to beef up a very weak story.

Disco.

was it just me or did anyone notice the comment made ---

Host to WA minister- Is this the end for The kimberlies?"

reply - NO its just the beginning for the kimberlies ( or words to that effect)


that's code word for - once we get in mining infrastructure - we will then get in lots more and we will suck the kimberlies dry for all its worth

The financial controller stopped watching it as it upset her , herd he mumble i cant watch this scum bag try to justify destroying a beautiful place like this .....

yes - its just the beginning

Boc

I also watched 60 Mins, I've looked at Google Earth to see the area named in the 'story' to see why they would put any type of building on such nice TALL red cliffs and to my surprise the picture is not the same or even similar.

Yes sensationalism sells, so who was the story told for, when I watched I thought it was not the company building the the Gas plant, indeed it was the PROTESTER and they used a picture of some other much nicer place, just to make it all emotive and gain viewer sympathy.

Can I suggest, IF the picture below is actually the beach where the gas plant will be built then it is a complete lie and totally false reporting by 60 Mins.

Yes, we NEED the Gas plant and it will be built where there are no huge red cliffs, it makes sense to put it on a beach as the Google Maps pic shows it will be.Image Could Not Be FoundMaîneÿ . . .

If you have a look on Google earth at the Gas plant that was put in for Darwin to service the Timor Gas fields it barely rates a mention. The only visible part for any of the locals is the jetty which is located on a shallow rocky ground. I remember when boating that area we had to stay well clear because of the rocks and small island that would become visible at low tide. The area was no good for fishing as it was too exposed. I think in this case they have picked a good site.

I would imagine the Kimberley site for a gas plant would also be discrete and have little or no impact on the local environment.

My only wish is that some of the gas be kept for the domestic market and sold at an affordable price or at least at the same price as they give it away to foreign buyers.

David

That's what you are supposed to do - get into shock -'60 Minutes ..... it's what they do'.

Yes the mine site proposed is 3k x 3km which is small / minute on the scale of things, however do we really want to see mines / shipping lanes popping up along the Kimberley Coastline just like it is in the Pilbara?

** what i meant to write in the original post was :
"If any of you have ever been to this part of the coastline you will know that there is no other place LIKE THE KIMBERLEY where you can see the blue ocean, the pristine white sand, and the vivid red coastline."

It will be intersting to go back to James Price Point in the coming years take a photo and decide which is better.

**Along the lines of a song recorded 4 decades ago:
DON'T IT ALWAYS SEEM TO GO, THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT TILL IT'S >>>>>> G O N E>>>>>>>>>>>> $$$$$$$$$$$

If you can remember some years ago 60 minutes had another sensational piece on Swans being killed by the dam at the North Park gold mine. I was involved in that at the time and saw the actual transcripts of the interview with the mine manager. In the version that went to air they had edited it so heavily that when he had actually answered no to questions they substituted other answers from other questions where he had actually said yes. It was completely dishonest even to the extent of having a person who worked for them get a job at the mine to take the photos. the photos were then edited to show dozens of birds dead when in fact it was only a couple.
As a result the mine manager a truly decent man resigned.

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I have NEVER seen a news article that I knew anything about that was 100% correct. NEVER, and I have been involved a number of times in what were fairly major stories due to my work role.

Therefore I assume that most, if not all, news stories contain, to some degree, inaccuracies. Much of this is because the writers don't understand the issues, but also on many occasions they are looking for the sensational story, and that bears little semblance of the truth.

Hi Curlynan,

These issues really polarise people and as an east coaster I can’t really have a valid opinion other than one that sounds rather selfish. I’ve been to the Kimberley once and I can’t wait to go back and see it again – still so much to see. I also saw the 60 minutes article and came away thinking that I better hurry! Just a couple of observations, I thought about the locals and how it might affect them, there seemed to be a mixed view. I took notice of both sides of the indigenous argument, one there will be $1b ploughed into services by the government/company(?) and the other that said that what they have now will disappear for ever. Really can’t comment of where these people lived or to what extent they were entitled to their view. I dismissed some of the greens they interviewed. It did make me think that there could be a lot of good coming out of the money being offered.

The next consideration was if would be good for the State of WA – certainly the Premier thought so. I couldn’t help but think that he was in too much in a hurry to apply a positive spin but the best he could do on the environmental grounds was that the plant would be producing clean burning gas – no mention of the real estate it occupied. Then I thought well there is a whole lot of dough for the state in royalties and taxes etc but then reality struck me and off course very little will benefit the State as there will be gratuitous government spending if everything runs normally. The other question that popped up is why does it have to be right there? I mean if the pipeline is several hundred kilometre long then why not exit the ocean near Broome or Derby where there is already some infrastructure and where it may not even be noticed.

OK, I thought nationally – a great project for Australia and foreign exchange etc but I started thinking who is Woodside these days anyway, who owns it and where do they direct their profits. I have no idea but if I wasn’t so lazy I could find out and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they are not really a dinki di aussie!

I certainly hope that the locals benefit from this project but I have my doubts. I also don’t believe that all will be well or trust the notion of a small real estate footprint. But I suppose it is the price of progress and if the local are happy then who am I to complain. I know it will never be the same and will hurry my plans to have one last look.

Kind regards

Well hre we go again the bloody do gooders and greenies trying to run the country again ; Please let the people who live up there decide not some tourist that goes up there once a year doing the bush tucker man thing .
I honestly think the only person up there who would be against are
1 Greenies ( because thats what they do WHINGE )
2 people on the dole ( terrorified they will have to get a job )
3 do gooders ( because is fashionable in the coffee shops to try to stop anything
Remember if it wasn't for these 3 groups in Vic a lot more homes would still be around and some lives saved .. Because it was this crowd of misfits that stop the burn off .. Stay in you own back yard and let the people who live there vote and decide .. Not some tourists from the east coast suburbs who only see it once a year and never contribute any thing to the wellfare of these people

Ron

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G'day All

Another great thread, showing a great deal of balance for and against in the Kimberley.

I have been conducting tours and travelling around the area in question for the last 20 years, I don't reckon that there should be any development at all. It is one of the last pristine areas in Australia, once development starts it will only continue to grow, with the long term effects associated with such developments.

I worked in the Wee Waa area on properties when cotton was first being established in the 60's, we are now witnessing the effects of flood irrigation, draining of rivers, rising salt tables and degradation of eco systems not to mention the amount of water taken from the artesian basis by 6in bores with a 3ft head at the outlet working 24/7, or 20in river pumps working 24/7.

Next time you travel through Wilcannia have a look out to the south, once a thriving inland port, gee, that jetty is a long way out of the sand.

And it goes on and on, there is a similarity to save the Kimberley as to the campaign to save the Franklin area in Tasmania. We have at the moment what I would call a last chance to save and enjoy an area that is unique, sure the companies involved will save a fortune on piping gas to James Price Point, but the road works and infistructure involved to service the proposed plant would be more than balanced by establishing said plant in the Derby, Broome area.

One of the great things about this site is that there are so many people from all walks of life, who enjoy getting out in the scrub, just sit back for a minute, think of the time you travelled to the Kimberley, wouldn't it be great to think that your grand kids could take their children to such an unique place.

Have a real good look at the area on google earth and have a big think.

Well that's my two bobs worth.

Cheers all

Lotzi

PS, I know I can't spell or put to words together, thanks.

I wonder how many here would even see the Kimberly if it was not for development.

When I first worked in the area in the 60's the only sealed road was from the border to Wyndham.

Most of the road from Katherine to the border was dirt, no bridge over the Victoria R, and dirt most of the way to Geraldton. I once camped for 2 weeks waiting for the Fitzroy to go down so I could cross the flood way.

Development has bought with it reasonable access so we can visit in relative comfort.

WRT the comments on Environmental scientists. I work with many of these and consider the remarks above to border on libel. Certainly they work for clients, but they look for the solutions to issues and have extensive legislation to guide them. Certainly they are not just "Guns for hire"