Seems that Tony Burke doesn’t think James Price Point is worth saving and big business wins again. I’m sure they will still have a fight from everyone opposed to the worlds biggest gas plant being built on the Broome doorstep. He has proposed that half of the Kimberley is to be heritage listed, what happens to the other half? Well I guess that is where the resources are. What is heritage listing anyway, just more red tape for companies to go through to get what they want. In the end will it really stop anything going ahead?

As for Woodside protecting the dinosaur footprints, will that be similar to how they protected the rock art on the Burrup Peninsula. See the photo below.

Not many people know where the rock art ended up. We were taken there by a guide and led up a very obscure track, that obviously isn’t one they want you to use. We all felt a sense of shame at what we saw and I could only think of how I would feel if something culturally significant to me was moved to make way for a plant that was there to save the world from burning coal. Sorry I meant to make a shit load of money for the company. I assume the dinosaur prints will be treated just as carefully and respectfully.

To everyone in Broome who opposes the gas hub, I’m saddened to hear this news but I’m sure with your strong will and community spirit this thing can still be averted. To those who are rubbing their hands together in glee for the profits they may or may not make, please think about our environment, your kids environment, the respect of indigenous culture and land and those who only want a good outcome for everyone, not just the oil and gas industry.

There are no jobs on a dead planet

Anyway on a lighter note the Bike to Broome went extremely well. No crashes, no injuries only a bit of nappy rash and some upset stomachs. Goes to show that humans can do anything if they put their minds to it. We were ahead of schedule on most changes but because we couldn’t get into Broome ahead of time we had to go a bit slower at times. This gave us a chance for a breather but the sleep was pretty hard to come by. We probably only averaged 2 to 3 hours per day so it got a bit tough in the last couple. Still when we arrived we were running on excitement and positive energy and the warm reception from the Broome locals was fantastic. Along the way the public and news were told about our ride and what we were doing it for so the message was getting out there. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us with donations and products. It was so amazing. To those who praised our efforts, thank you. We hope some people have had another think about what the Kimberley means to them and some attitudes have been changed.

To all the people in power who make these crazy decisions, know that the public will be voting one day soon and I hope you have done enough to be re-elected. Remember also the decisions you make today you will have to live with forever. If the Kimberley is laid bare and destroyed it will be your actions we will remember. I hope you can live with that.

We were all so amazed with how we coped with the ride we are already talking about a Bike to Canberra. How good would that be. You loose weight, get fit, see the country at 3okph and air your dirty socks on the doorstep of Parliament House. If we eat enough beans I’m sure even the hardest nosed politician will be asking us to put our gas elsewhere!! We are happy to do that. No one wants gas pollution in their neighbourhood. Speaking of  gas pollution, check this out -

Environmental impacts associated with this proposed development include:

• Clearing of 2400 hectares (24 square kilometres) of Pindan Woodlands and extremely rare Monsoon Vine Thicket plant communities could be affected.
• Dredging is the process of digging a channel and turning basin to allow access for the LNG tankers and other boats. It is a very ecologically damaging process that releases large loads of sediment, and under plans released by the Government up to 21 million tonnes would be dredged.
• Sediment: The release of sediment into the marine environment causes impacts on light-dependant organisms suchas corals and sea grass by smothering the organisms and cutting off the light required for photosynthesis. Suspended sediments impact on filter feeding organisms such as oysters and sponges by clogging their feeding mechanisms, essentially starving the animals. Other organisms such as fish are impacted by the clogging of their gills.
• Humpback Whales: The largest Humpback whale nursery on Earth lies between Broome and Camden Sound on the Kimberley coast. The Kimberley coast is crucial habitat for the Humpback whale, a protected species in Australia. The Kimberley population of whales is internationally significant.
• Fish: James Price Point has been identified as a fish aggregation area, though scientific information is limited. It is likely that future studies will identify fish breeding sites and the dredging and blasting of coral reefs will destroy habitat.
• Turtles: Five marine turtle species, including Australia’s own Flatback turtle, are found in the Kimberley. Studies have identified the James Price point region as an important feeding area for turtles and nesting has been recorded in the area, though survey effort has been insufficient to date to have a clear idea of the significance of the area as anesting beach. It is known from elsewhere that light pollution and other impacts from this sort of development can impact on turtle hatchling survival.
• Coral: A coral reef province of global significance extends along the Kimberley coast. The James Price Point area is no exception and the area under threat from development is home to many beautiful and diverse coral species.
• Snubfin dolphins: are Australia’s unique dolphin species! Found nowhere else in the world this species has been recently discovered by science and the Kimberley is crucial habitat. The latest research has identified that Snubfin families appear to spend much of their lives in very small territories close to shore. This means Snubfin populations can be heavily impacted by habitat destruction and unsustainable development.
• Reef blasting: the diverse coral and other communities are threatened by the extensive blasting that would be required for port and channel construction.
• Breakwater: the breakwater proposed for the area could be as large as 7km long. Such a large structure would interrupt and change the local current flows, and damage the local ecosystem during construction with unpredictable impacts.
• Seismic pollution (e.g. blasting and ship noise) – studies have implicated seismic pollution in changing migratoryand other behaviour and whale stranding events.
• Climate change: Greenhouse gas emissions would skyrocket, rendering the achievement of WA and Australiagreenhouse gas reduction targets virtually impossible. Conservative estimates of just the initial project indicate that 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gases would be emitted every year – equivalent to 3 million cars (20% of WA’s total).
• Air pollution: Toxic air pollution from the gas hub would release gasses from flare towers and other operations including poisonous nitrogen and sulfur compounds (‘Nox’ and ‘Sox’) known to have negative impacts of humanand wildlife health.
• Sea pollution: Continuous pollution and degradation of the marine environment from drilling, dredging, shipping,and pipelines being laid along the ocean floor.
• Disasters: Shipping and the potential for oil spills - along with this proposed development would come the construction of huge oil and gas rigs and undersea pipelines and a massive increase in shipping. As we saw recently with the Gulf of Mexico and Montara (West Atlas) oil spill off the Kimberley coast, accidents do happen. This region is just too ecologically significant, too special to be put at unnecessary risk.
• Water: A huge amount of fresh water would be required for this project. This will come from groundwater or viadesalination. The use of groundwater is likely to have negative impacts on the waterholes and vegetation of the region. Desalination is an energy (greenhouse) intensive process that also releases highly saline water and chemicals into the marine environment.
• Scott Reef: Scott Reef is in danger, with Woodside planning to put the rig that will pump oil and gas to James Price Point on top of the environmentally important and beautiful Scott Reef.

SAVE THE KIMBERLEY