Updated
Photo:
Traditional owners look out from the cliffs at Gambanan where the heritage listing was announced (Erin Parke)
The Federal Government has announced that more than 19 million hectares of Western Australia’s Kimberley region will be heritage listed.
Environment Minister Tony Burke travelled to Gambanan, three hours north of Broome, to make the announcement to a gathering of traditional owners.
The area listed includes the West Kimberley coast from Cape Leveque to Cambridge Gulf, the Kimberley plateau, the Fitzroy River and land south of the Oscar and Napier ranges.
The Heritage Council had recommended the areas be recognised for their Indigenous and colonial history, natural beauty, and to preserve ancient dinosaur and human footprints.
Mr Burke says the West Kimberley belongs on a list of the places which define Australia.
“Its unique wildlife, stunning coastlines, spectacular gorges and waterfalls, ancient Aboriginal cultural traditions as well as its pastoral and pearling history make this one of the most remarkable places in our nation,” he said.
Not on the list is the controversial proposed gas hub 60 kilometres north of Broome, although the area’s dinosaur footprints will be protected.
There have been numerous protests and blockades over the proposed LNG precinct at James Price Point, where the oil and gas company Woodside has begun clearing land.
WA Premier Colin Barnett says he is not surprised the gas hub site was not included.
“James Price Point was selected from 43 different sites because it has a minimal impact and certainly didn’t affect biodiversity, so I don’t think anyone should be surprised by that (not being listed),” he said.
“It was selected because it was the least impact site.
“This has been a very long, scientific process and the settlement of $1.5 billion is, without doubt, the most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history and I think all of us should respect that.”
Environs Kimberley spokeswoman Emma Belfield, who has joined protesters blockading the site, says she is bitterly disappointed.
“This community campaign will keep going, the resolve is just growing by the day, and I have no doubt that we will ultimately prevail,” she said.
The listing is supported by Indigenous and conservation groups but pastoralists and miners are concerned it may limit their land use.
Mr Burke says it is not an automatic lock-up and does not prevent development.
But, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy’s Nicole Roocke says it will delay projects getting off the ground.
“What it certainly does is it will have an impact through an additional bureaucratic layer, it will certainly add costs to projects going ahead,” she said.
The Kimberley, although under-explored, has a diverse range of mineral deposits valued around $360 billion.
Heritage listing of an area does not change land ownership or native title, and existing activities on the land and sea are allowed to continue.
But it does provide protection of the Kimberley’s wildlife, coastline and Indigenous heritage and it means that anyone planning to carry out any kind of work that might impact on those values must first get approval from the Federal Government.
There are now 96 places on the national heritage list including Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House and Fremantle Prison.
Infographic:
Map of the West Kimberley National Heritage Place (Dept of the Environment)
Topics:
environmental-management,
conservation,
environmental-policy,
broome-6725,
kununurra-6743
First posted
More
stories from Western Australia
Open all references in tabs: [1 – 3]