Minister Burke Responds re: James Price Point

I received a response to my letter to Tony Burke about the gorgeous James Price Point:

"Hello,

You previously contacted the Australian Government about protecting the west Kimberley.

I'm pleased to let you know that the west Kimberley has now been added to the National Heritage List, following a comprehensive assessment by the Heritage Council.

It was an honour to stand at One Arm Point with Traditional Owners from across the west Kimberley to announce that the area's incredible heritage values had been recognised and would now be protected.

The outstanding heritage values of the west Kimberley include:

- The incredible natural beauty of the coast from the Buccaneer Archipelago to the King George River; the Mitchell Plateau; King George Falls; Geikie Gorge, Windjana Gorge and King Leopold Ranges

- Rich biodiversity, including many plants, mammals, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates that are found only in this part of Australia

- The mighty Fitzroy River

- Dinosaur footprints on the west coast of the Dampier Peninsula which are remarkable remnant of past life in the region

- Ongoing Aboriginal traditions associated with Wanjina and the Rainbow Serpent and spectacular rock art

- Sites which tell a more recent history including Jandamarra, the dispute at Noonkanbah Station and the drove to Fossil Downs which became the longest overlanding cattle drive in Australia’s history

Details of the announcement are available at http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/west-kimberley/index.html

Make sure you have a look at the spectacular Kimberley images in the eBook "National Heritage Listing - One Place, Many Stories: West Kimberley"!

Yours sincerely,

Tony Burke

Federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

P.S. I’d like to keep you updated occasionally on issues relating to the heritage of the west Kimberley.  If you don’t want to receive further emails on this just send me a message to this address with “take me off the west Kimberley heritage list” in the subject header.  But please don’t because I’d much rather keep you updated!"

This is a great start to looking after an incredibly rich place.  It still has a long way to go with the proposed gas hub by Woodside at James Prices Point being allowed to go ahead.  The fight goes on.  Join in the campaign, and find out more information at Save the Kimberley and The Wilderness Society where you can sign up the petition.  If you are in Sydney, the official Wilderness Society Kimberley Campaign is being launched this Saturday at 10 am at  North Head Sanctuary, North Head, Manly.

Thanks! Meg

Letter to Tony Burke MP re: James Price Point

This is a copy of my letter I have emailed to Tony Burke MP today regarding the gas processing plant at James Price Point on the Dampier Peninsula, WA.

Dear Tony Burke MP,

I am writing to you in regard to my concerns surrounding the gas processing plant at James Price Point.

I am wishing to express my wholehearted support for the National Heritage Listing for the Dampier Peninsula which is the location for this proposed gas hub, and express my opposition to any plans for the gas process plant at James Prices Point.

Having travelled through many parts of Australia, I can wholeheartedly tell you that this Peninsula is a place of importance in our country, to the local indigenous people for the long dreamtime stories, the fossils, and storylines, but also for the species of flora and fauna which are endemic to this region.

The Dampier Peninsula has been well guarded from the heavy traffic of tourism by the dirt road that is subject to weather (that caught us out unawares) for a very good reason. The local people of the Dampier Peninsula do not wish to be inundated, they wish to keep their treasures and stories well looked after, and as it has not been listed as World Heritage (like Kakadu, or Francois Peron) like it really should be, they have kept it this way by restricting the flow in.

Now white man's greed and industrialisation is set to trample over the top, and destroy storylines, fossils, and dreamtime stories, bring in a completely different lifestyle for the Broome area that will be more like Port Headland and Karratha that will most likely lead to fly in, fly out workers getting rich, and the local indigenous people being overlooked for work (as they most often are at the moment there now) due to prejudice ("No point employing them, because they probably won't turn up tomorrow" - yes I heard that time and time again) and also because they don't have the right qualifications.

Touting the project as though the indigenous people are going to win out of this is a complete lie, there is no win for them. Their lives will turn upside down.

What I saw in Port Headland was extreme wealth and slums, not a place to stay and marvel at.

What I saw in the Dampier Peninsula was paradise. Broome has a very good thing going with its tourism. Once you industrialise a town, it becomes very ugly, it will become an eyesore over time and lose the very attraction that has been drawing people from all over the world for years. Is this what we are wanting for our country? Is this a well thought out policy?

Dampier Peninsula needs a National Heritage Listing now, if not a World Heritage Listing. I would implore you to spend some time there with the people, in the country.

Please reconsider, Tony. This country is in your hands at the moment.

These are the things that keep me awake - our people who are being neglected, and the beauty of our land being lost.

What keeps you awake?

Kind regards,

Meg Dunley

I will await his response and action.

If you wish to show your support to the Kimberley, please visit www.savethekimberley.com