More than 100 community members gathered outside Broome’s iconic Cable Beach Club last night as Premier Roger Cook delivered the State Budget to business and community leaders inside, calling on the WA Government to ban oil and gas fracking in the Kimberley.
The protest highlighted growing concern that fracking would industrialise one of Australia’s most celebrated tourism destinations and damage the Kimberley’s globally recognised clean, natural brand.
“The Kimberley’s $500 million tourism industry depends on an unspoilt landscape, intact nature and extraordinary cultural heritage. Tourism is a major employer in the region,” said Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard.
“Turning the Kimberley into a fracking province would put that reputation at risk. Visitors come here for wilderness and culture, not oil and gas fields.”
Texas-based Black Mountain Energy is currently seeking approval for a 20-well fracking appraisal project in the Kimberley, with longer-term plans involving an export pipeline and potentially hundreds or thousands of wells across the region.
“People across Australia are shocked when they hear fracking is being proposed for the Kimberley,” Mr Pritchard said.
“No WA Labor MP has publicly backed fracking in the Kimberley because the risks are obvious — damage to tourism, minimal long-term jobs and a pollution legacy taxpayers may ultimately have to clean up.”
Mr Pritchard said Premier Roger Cook now faced a defining decision for the future of the Kimberley.
“The Premier has an opportunity to protect one of the world’s great natural landscapes from one of the world’s most polluting industries,” he said.
“WA Labor members want a ban. Unions want a ban. The community wants a ban. The Premier can make this happen — and it would be a hugely popular decision.”
Image: Community members out the front of Cable Beach Club calling for a ban on fracking Photo: Damian Kelly
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