Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Environmental Flashpoints
Enter James Price Point, an expanse of wilderness along the Kimberley coast 60km north
of Broome. A multinational consortium and the WA state government are proposing a li-
quefied natural gas (LNG) station here - the biggest in the world.
James Price Point has become a leading symbol of tensions between the growing finan-
cial fortunes of the state and the less easily quantified value of a pristine, untouched land-
scape. Not only are mining interests, traditional land owners, politicians and environment-
alists in fierce disagreement with each other but also divisions within these groups run
deep. For locals in the relatively small community of nearby Broome, for instance, 'whose
side you're on' is often common knowledge, and this lack of anonymity is a further source
of strain.
For the state premier Colin Barnett, successful extraction of the gas at James Price Point
would not just award him a badge of honour. It would mark the zenith of the state's con-
temporary achievements, and he would be leading the charge. In May 2012, in response to
noisy but peaceful protestors, over 150 riot police were flown up from Perth to protect the
site and quell the clamour.
The approval process for extraction of the gas is lengthy and complex. In July 2012 the
state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), an independent statutory body that
provides environmental advice to government, flashed up a green light of approval, subject
to a series of restrictions and amendments that included which areas of land should remain
untouched (there are dinosaur tracks in evidence) and when gas could be piped out (not at
night during in the whales' migratory and breeding season, please).
Four members of the EPA board who helped develop the initial assessment were stood
aside due to conflicts of interest. Two had superannuation shares in Woodside; one had
worked for BP, one of the joint-venture partners of the project; and another had worked for
a related state government department. (In many respects, WA is - and always has been - a
'small town'.) This left just one member standing: the chairman, Paul Vogel. That initial
environmental approval for development of the world's largest LNG station was granted by
one individual has been a source of consternation for many. Some claim that the
environmental-assessment process was not rigorous enough, and that too much about the
area remains unknown. Many others, though, see a seemingly endless expanse of coastline
and red dirt and believe that, while the financial fruits of development would be expansive,
environmental and cultural costs would be limited.
