CPA - The Guardian

Last year the appalling leakage of gas and oil from the West Atlas drilling rig off the shore of the Kimberley coast in north-west Australia horrified the nation. However, the whole of the vast, magnificent Kimberley region is now under the threat of massive mining and industrial development.

The Kimberley, which is of enormous cultural significance for Aboriginal people who have lived there for tens of thousands of years, is one of the nation’s last largely unspoilt natural places. The Wilderness Society has described it as follows:

“Its vast savannah landscapes, wild rivers, extensive wetlands, spectacular coast and rich marine environments provide a multitude of habitats that are home to an extraordinary diversity of species. The amazing wildlife of the region includes the recently discovered snubfin dolphin, humpback whales (which give birth on the Kimberley coast), gouldian finches, northern quoll and the golden bandicoot.

The recently discovered snubfin dolphin – one of the many species to be found along the Kimberley coast.

“Incredibly, the far north-west Kimberly sub-region is the only part of Western Australia, and one of the very few in Australia, that appears to have retained its complete native fauna species diversity without extinction since European settlement.”

This is not to say that the Kimberley has suffered no adverse changes within that period, particularly from cattle grazing. However, that damage pales into insignificance compared with what it would suffer if the proposed developments take place.

The proposed Kimberley industrial developments would involve the extraction of natural gas, as well as the mining of gas, bauxite, coal, and other minerals, and the refining and smelting of aluminium, lead and zinc, on an enormous scale. The pristine coastline would become littered with massive industrial facilities. Coastal areas would be cleared, and huge bauxite strip mines would be opened up on the Mitchell Plateau.

The proposed Browse Basin gas field alone would increase the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 14 percent. The marine and coastal wildlife would constantly face major threats of pollution, and the area’s booming tourism industry, which employs 500 Indigenous people in 24 Indigenous-owned businesses, would be crippled.

The metal industries have been severely criticised in recent years for their high use of energy, most of which comes from the combustion of coal, either in blast furnaces or coal-fired power stations. This process has resulted in extremely high levels of carbon dioxide emissions, a major component in Australia’s overall emissions which contribute to the global problem of climate change.

The extraction of natural gas is a key component in the proposed industrial developments, whose operations would require huge amounts of energy. The proponents of the Kimberley scheme have claimed that use of natural gas as an energy source would reduce the level of emissions from the developments, compared with the use of coal. Corporations involved in the extraction and utilisation of natural gas claim that its use results in an emission reduction of between 50 and 70 percent.

However, this assumes that the gas is used direct and without intermediate processes. The Kimberley developments, on the other hand, would involve the production and use of liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to a study commissioned by the International Energy Agency, the liquefaction, shipping and re-gasification of natural gas results in a reduction of only 34 percent in the emission rate of LNG compared with coal.

Moreover, because the marketing of natural gas is potentially a vast source of corporate profit, the Kimberley proponent corporations have totally ignored the use of renewable energy, which would result in absolutely minimal emissions.

Calling a halt

The Wilderness Society has demanded that the Kimberley be protected by:

Science-based regional conservation planning and management, using whole-of-landscape principles;
Strong involvement of the traditional owners and Indigenous communities in land management and sustainable economy programs;
Ruling out large scale industrial activity.

The Society and other organisations have pointed out that the natural significance of the Kimberley is just as great as that of the Great Barrier Reef, and should therefore be subject to the same environmental controls that prevent oil and gas mining on the Reef.

However, neither the state nor the federal government has been swayed by this argument, and they have welcomed the development proposals. Despite its extraordinary natural significance, no marine parks have yet been created within the Kimberley coastal area, nor is this likely to happen.

It is now obvious that no coalition or ALP government will take the necessary action to protect the environment in the Kimberley - or elsewhere, as demonstrated recently by the NSW government’s recent approval for construction of two new coal-fired power stations in that state.

Protection for the Kimberley region will only be provided by a government of a far more progressive persuasion, and by fierce, united and determined opposition from members of the public, local Aboriginal communities, the union movement and other progressive forces.

Next article – ABC chairman Maurice Newman must explain

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