Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

James Price Point: Government media statement

The Premier’s office released a detailed statement today about the planned compulsory acquisition of James Price Point.

You can read it here:

Premier;

Minister for State Development

2/9/10                                                                                               Media Statement

State Government to trigger land acquisition process for LNG precinct.

The State Government has started a formal compulsory acquisition process to ensure land is available for the LNG precinct at James Price Point, 60 kilometres north of Broome.

The land involved in this process is unallocated Crown land, over which no Native Title has currently been determined.

Premier Colin Barnett said the Government’s decision to commence the compulsory acquisition process was necessary as the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) and native title claimants had been unable to finalise an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the State and Woodside Energy within the required timeframe, due to internal issues within the claimant group.  The deadline to finalise an ILUA between the State, Woodside and the KLC lapsed on June 30 and would not be extended for a fourth time.

Only land required for the precinct would be affected and the acquisition would follow the requirements of the Western Australian Land Administration Act 1997 and the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.

“Developing gas from the Browse Basin is critical for the development of this State, this nation and its indigenous people. Economic independence and real opportunity is the best way towards self-determination for Aboriginal people and goes a long way towards reconciliation,” Mr Barnett said.

“In developing this resource, the Government will not compromise on environmental standards, good planning, high standards of safety or benefits to the Aboriginal community.

“Compulsory acquisition is a clearly defined process which involves negotiating in good faith with registered Native Title claimants over a six-month period. If an agreement cannot be reached, the State will refer the matter to the National Native Title Tribunal for arbitration, which takes another six months.

“The State Government would prefer to sign an ILUA based on consent, and I continue to encourage claimants to resolve the issues within their groups.

“If that is not possible, we will be aiming to achieve a negotiated outcome that is consistent with the Heads of Agreement signed by the Kimberley Land Council on behalf of the Goolarabooloo Jabirr Jabirr claimants in April 2009.

“The State Government and Woodside remain committed to delivering about $1.5billion of social and economic benefits to local Aboriginal communities, as part of the LNG precinct project.”

The Premier said the Heads of Agreement included:

• recognition of the claimants as Traditional Owners of the affected land
• providing an area of land, equivalent to that required for the precinct, to the Traditional Owners under freehold title
• creating new economic opportunities, including in business development and trade training
• stronger environmental and heritage protection including creating new conservation reserves on the Dampier Peninsula
• reform of indigenous land tenure reform to help establish appropriate titles for home ownership and economic development in Dampier Peninsula communities
• creating Traditional Owner controlled funds for economic development, housing, education and cultural preservation funds
• increased funding to improve Government facilities and services for the wider community
• when the land is no longer needed, returning it fully remediated to the Traditional Owners.

“This is an extraordinarily big deal in every respect. I am not referring to the investment or the amount of dollars expended. This is a project that has the potential to bring enormous benefits to Western Australia and especially to the Kimberley. The Kimberley has high levels of unemployment, limited work opportunities and issues of education, health and housing,” Mr Barnett said.

“This project provides a great chance to offer a substantial and permanent improvement to Aboriginal people and the wider Kimberley area.”

A history of the LNG precinct is attached.

LNG precinct history

• The Department of State Development (then Industry and Resources) started work to identify a suitable site for LNG development in the Kimberley region in
  June 2007.
• Potential sites were comprehensively evaluated against four broad criteria of environmental, economic, technical, and social feasibility.  In July 2008, the initial list of 43 was reduced to 11 sites for more detailed consideration.
• Four sites, including James Price Point, were short-listed in October 2008.
  A Site Evaluation Report was published for public comment.
• On December 19, 2008, the Environmental Protection Authority published advice under s16(e) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 which indicated that the environmental impacts and risks of locating a precinct in the James Price Point area are likely to be manageable.
• On December 23, 2008, the State Government announced James Price Point on the Dampier Peninsula, 60 km north of Broome as the preferred location for the development of an LNG precinct.
• The State, and Woodside Energy Limited, as foundation proponent, commenced negotiating with the Kimberley Land Council (KLC), as authorised representatives of the Traditional Owners, to reach an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) to establish the LNG precinct at James Price Point.
• In April 2009, the State, KLC and Woodside entered into a Heads of Agreement as the basis for developing an Indigenous Land Use Agreement for the LNG precinct by September 2009.
• Deadline for finalising an ILUA between the State, KLC and Woodside subsequently extended to December 31, 2009, then March 31, 2010 and finally June 30, 2010.
• On December 2, 2009, the Joint Authority (WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum and Commonwealth Minister for Resources and Energy) issued notices of intent to renew the relevant offshore exploration retention leases.  Lease conditions require the Browse Joint Venture, operated by Woodside, to make a Final Investment Decision by June 2012.
• KLC provided with $15.6million since January 2009 to undertake ILUA negotiations, co-ordinate input from Traditional Owners, and to participate in various studies relating to the process of establishing an LNG precinct at James Price Point.
• On June 11, 2010, the KLC formally advised that due to tensions within the claimant group and subsequent legal proceedings within the claimant group, the claimants were unable to finalise an ILUA with the State and Woodside Energy by the deadline of June 30, 2010.
• September 2010, the Western Australian Government commenced a compulsory acquisition process to ensure that land is available for the LNG precinct within the required timeframe.

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