Save the Kimberley Concert
26 Feb 2013 at 9:13pm
John Butler at the Save the Kimberley Concert last weekend. Entertaining and inspiring.
Shot on the Fuji X-Pro 1
John Butler at the Save the Kimberley Concert last weekend. Entertaining and inspiring.
Shot on the Fuji X-Pro 1
Make sure you get down to Fremantle this Sunday the 24th and lend your support to saving the Kimberley from industrialisation.
What an awesome day with a FREE concert by John Butler, Missy Higgins and Ball Park Music.
Go to the link here to get more details on the day.
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:
SAVE THE KIMBERLEY
Well hopefully the training and planing will pay off. Come tomorrow we finally Lycra up and head to Broome on our epic non stop trip. If anyone is in Perth tomorrow from 11am we will be assembling there and hitting the open road at 11.45. Come and give us some support.
Will try to post updates as time and Internet permits. See you in Broome.
Goes to show with lots of money and enough greed anything is possible. As Flemming said, how far would he be allowed to go with a bulldozer if he wanted to carve up some wilderness.
I’m not having a go at anyone who works for Woodside just those who make the decisions, and most of all our glorious leader Barnett. You must be so proud right now. Thanks to you our economy is going to prosper, the indigenous will be housed, educated and happy (just like what the mining industry have done for the peoples of the Pilbara) and a whole new industrial scar will cover one of our last wilderness areas! Brilliant.
Right now I could drive a bulldozer right through parliament house, but I wouldn’t. I have too much respect for peoples property and the law!!!!
p.s. I’m not having a go at the police either, they are doing a job like the rest of us.
This is taken from thewest.com.au
In its major environmental assessment of the impact of the $30 billion James Price Point gas precinct, the State Government has revealed there could be detrimental impacts for the surrounding marine ecosystem.
To be publicly released on Monday, the six-volume 1500 page draft Strategic Assessment Report details the potential for whale deaths from vessel strikes and physiological impacts on dugongs from blasting works, marine discharge and removal of foraging habitat.
Two years in the making, the report also formally recommends building the project at James Price Point, identifying it as the most commercially viable location.
It’s all about MONEY, as if we didn’t already know.
Does anyone know if the money being given to the aboriginals, $1.5 billion, is being distributed amongst all of them residing in the Kimberley? If so from my research of the Department of Education website, there are about 11,500 aboriginals currently in the area. Now that means they will each get $83 per week for the next 30 years to give up their land. Hmmm I don’t know if that is such a good deal. I think the government thinks it is a good deal!
Can someone please check my figures, I must be wrong, in fact I want to be wrong.
I wonder what $83 will be worth in the year 2040?
Hope you like the shot of the our precious ocean, sorry there is a speck in it I should have cloned out! Shot on the lovely Phase One, when you zoom in to 100% you can see the whales rocking to the beat. Seismic sound sensation! I believe they like metal too! Bring on the Bauxite Rock!!!
Bob Brown was in Broome this week to talk about JPP, here is the story from the West
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/8135115/klc-asks-brown-to-respect-gas-hub-support/
Here is the story from the ABC
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201010/s3038290.htm?site=kimberley
Here is the story from the Sydney Morning Herald
Now is it just me or is the story in the West a bit biased to the inevitability that the gas plant is going in at James Price Point? I wonder why??
hmmm thats right Don Voelte is a director of the West !! Surely just a coincidence!
Here is a detail shot I took last week. These compilations can work well to strengthen the images.
This is a classic North West scene taken on a beautiful sunny day at JPP. What you don’t see behind me is a magnificent lagoon that we swam in everyday. The kids collected Hermit Crabs and built sandcastles whilst I photographed the landscape. There were other visitors to the point including fishermen who drove up the beach to launch their boats and others just pulling in for a dip and a look at what all the fuss is about. We all just loved our stay and had a great bush camp set up under some trees just back from the red cliffs. The beaches are white soft sand and the water is blue. The red adding the awesome contrast that makes the Kimberley unique. There are amazing rocks everywhere of different types. The sandstone was particularly beautiful and all around were large pavements of cracked rock that resembled a crocodile skin. I didn’t see any of the dinosaur prints that are there as you need to know where to look. Brent you would love this place for night seascapes. The best thing is at night it is still 20 degrees or more.
If I was to put an order in for a place to have a holiday, a shoot and a tourism venture this would have to fit the bill. A gas Plant??? No way! You have to see it for yourself to be convinced this is NOT AN UNREMARKABLE LANDSCAPE.
On another note the Landscape 500 website was down for a few days but is working fine now. Make sure you get your entries in it closes at the end of this month.
Hey guess what? It isn’t an unremarkable piece of land. In fact it is the exact opposite. Don’t know if our good premier had his head in the sand or the clouds or just had dollar signs in his eyes. I am blown away by what we have seen. Keep an eye on gwn this week and Stateline on the 8th as we were interviewed by them.
Getting some great photos that we will share with you when I get time to do some processing. If this gas plant goes ahead it will be an absolute environmental disaster. You wouldn’t put one on Perth beaches and they are nothing compared to this. You must see it for yourself. George Negus is in broome doing a story on JPP so we hope we might see him out here tomorrow.
I just got back last night at Midnight from an awesome trip to Karratha shooting Altered Landscapes with some of the best Art Photographers in Australia.
Karratha is the place to go if you want to do this style of photography. I can’t show you the best stuff as it is been kept aside for an exhibition in February. This is an aerial shot from a Cessna we hired for a couple of hours. I love the simplicity of this image.
I am now repacking my bags and head off tomorrow for a couple of weeks up in the Kimbereley including a stay at James Price Point to see what it is all about. If you are meeting up with us or are wanting to, we are meeting at JPP at around lunchtime on the 1st of October. We will be camping out there for a few days at least. Come along if you can make it. Should be great fun and a good opportunity to shoot together.
I have just announced a second Bunker Bay workshop on the 15th and 16th of January 2011 with Nick Rains. The first workshop filled in 4 hours and this one is already half full. If you want to book it go to Nicks Website and register.
Lastly my email account has maxed out at over 350 when I got back last night from Karratha. It is going to be impossible to reply to everyone so if I miss you out please resend your inquiry in a couple of weeks time when I will be home. Sorry for those that have been waiting for a reply. It is just out of control at the moment.