Help protect the Kimberley today!

We’re gearing up for 2012 and we need your help for the Kimberley right now

Dear Friend,

Over the past year, thousands of people in Broome and around Australia have joined the fight to stand up to attempts by multi-national oil and gas companies Woodside, BP, Shell, Chevron and BHP to industrialise the Kimberley coast.

Here’s what they propose for one of the world’s most spectacular, unspoiled coastlines:

• the largest LNG facility in Australia (the second largest in the world)
• The gas refinery would cover 30km² of land, or about 1,500 Subiaco ovals/MCGs
• A 50km² ‘marine deadzone’ immediately offshore from James Price Point due to seafloor blasting and dredging
• 30 billion litres/year of wastewater pumped into the clean waters north of Broome
• In the event of an oil spill, oil would arrive at Cable Beach in 1-10 days
• The LNG hub would become Australia’s largest single point source of the toxic chemical benzene – millions of tones each year would pollute the Kimberley’s clean air
• At least 39 million tonnes/year of CO² emissions — equivalent to 7 million cars every year

The proposal would also open up the rest of the Kimberley to massive industrialisation.

2011 has been a momentous year for us here at Environs Kimberley: we’ve been working hard to support the local community, and to put this issue on the national political agenda.

We need your support to keep up our work on this campaign – please donate today.

The proposal to build Australia’s largest gas refinery on Broome’s doorstep is now on very shaky ground thanks to a concerted community campaign to ensure that key decision makers and investors know just what’s at stake, and that there are viable alternatives to industrialising the Kimberley.

Several thousand people have attended protests in Broome against the project over this year, and more than 60 people have been arrested trying to protect James Price Point from Woodside’s preliminary work on site.

James Price Point location in doubt.

Earlier this month, analysts Credit Suisse said that a “…James Price Point plant is less likely…” and that gas refineries in the Kimberley would cost $US36bn, compared to $US26bn to pipe to the Pilbara.

Back in September, analysts Merrill Lynch said persistent opposition from environmentalists and some Indigenous landowners could force Woodside to abandon its Kimberley location.

Added to this, the proposal is mired in a legal battlefield. A recent court case by Traditional Owners successfully challenged the legality of WA Premier Colin Barnett’s land grab for the gas refineries.

At the end of an extraordinary year in the Kimberley, it’s clear that WE CAN win one of the largest environmental battles in Australia’s history, but ONLY with your help.

2012 will be a turning point for the Kimberley.  Some big decisions will be made on whether economic development for our region is to be via industrialisation, or a more culturally and environmentally compatible approach.

We need your help to make sure that the Kimberley, Australia’s global wilderness treasure is protected. Here’s how you can help ensure the Kimberley, Australia’s global treasure, is protected:

1. Write to the Federal Minister for the Environment and ask him to reject gas refineries on the Kimberley coast (download our guide here)
2. Make a regular tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work here in the Kimberley. As little as $5 a week would go a long way to helping us with our campaigns. Here is the link to our online giving webpage
3. Become a member of EK – we’ll keep you informed, and your membership supports a local grassroots organisation that has been standing up for the Kimberley for fifteen years.
4. Join our Facebook page and help spreading the word about our campaigns to your networks

In 2012, we’ll need your help to keep the Kimberley coast gas-free!

Kind regards

Martin Pritchard

Environs Kimberley

PS Here’s what your tax-deductible donation to Environs Kimberley would achieve:

We need $15,000 a month to keep us operational. We need funding for publications to inform the community of what’s happening in the Kimberley. Funds to travel to meet decision-makers in Perth and Canberra are also vital for our work.

$100 pays our phone bill for a week.

$1,000 would print 2,000 brochures.

$5,000 would cover our travel costs for the year.

$15,000 keeps us going on all fronts for a month.

Letter writing to Minister Burke