❓ Question regarding the social impact strategy and retention of public sector workers in Broome due to the James Price Point project. The Minister defends the government's actions and highlights the benefits package and agreement with traditional owners.
AnsweredQoN 535Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Woodside Browse LNG Hub, James Price Point — social impacts
Before asking my question, I acknowledge in the gallery today the political and legal studies students from Kolbe Catholic College in my electorate. I refer to the James Price Point gas hub north of Broome. (1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT
Before asking my question, I acknowledge in the gallery today the political and legal studies students from Kolbe Catholic College in my electorate. I refer to the James Price Point gas hub north of Broome. (1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
I refer to the James Price Point gas hub north of Broome. (1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
I refer to the James Price Point gas hub north of Broome. (1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(1) What has the minister done to progress the social impact strategy, as required under the minister’s agreement with the traditional owners? (2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(2) What is the minister doing to ensure that the local essential government personnel based in Broome are retained in the public service and not driven out by cost increases? (3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
(3) When will the minister make public his strategy for mitigating the social impacts in Broome, such as on housing, social services and youth housing, and on access to medical services such as doctors and dentists? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
It is the James Price Point precinct. A “gas hub” was the concept for a third party processing gas; that will not happen on that site. The proponents of projects will process their own gas. It is a pedantic point but a different point. Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Another lecture! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It is important, as the Leader of the Opposition knows, to get the semantics right. It is a different concept. The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
The agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners was signed in this Parliament a matter of only a few weeks back. The final investment decision by Woodside is not expected until the second half of next year; so, like all big projects, there is a fair bit of time to run. A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
A whole lot of social studies work, environmental analysis and the like have been done; however, this government will start to deliver some of the social programs into that area. The social components have been made public. Indeed, the benefits package was tabled in this Parliament in full, and includes housing, land and so forth. As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
As to the impact of the precinct and what it will mean for Broome, when construction gets underway literally thousands of workers will be building the liquefied natural gas—LNG—plant. They will be located at worker accommodation at James Price Point; they will not be accommodated in Broome. At present Woodside is doing some initial geotechnical and other work on the site, as it must as part of its front-end engineering design—FEED—process. Woodside made the comment during the week that around 250 employees, either direct employees of Woodside or employees of contractors, are working with Woodside on the site at present. The observation was made that, once constructed, the operational workforce of the LNG plant will be about the same size—around 200 to 300 employees. It will not have a dramatic impact on the cost of housing and the like, but it will give a strong economic base for employment and training, particularly for Indigenous people. What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
What it will also give is year-round stability in bookings and turnover for the tourism industry of Broome. Instead of being a seasonal—sometimes a seasonal alone—industry, the accommodation and tourist facilities, restaurants and the like, in Broome, will now have 12-month customers. I think that is a good thing. There are a lot of issues and there is a lot of work to be done on James Price Point. There is a lot of work to be done with the joint venture partners and the Kimberley Land Council, and in child protection, education and health. The total size of this benefits package is $1.5 million, which is funded by Woodside and the state government. Interestingly, there was virtually no contribution from the commonwealth government—virtually none—yet it is the commonwealth government that will derive most of the future benefits. Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr M. McGowan : Well, you didn’t negotiate very well. We got a much better deal over Gorgon, and you have not got a good deal out of this one. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Not too many people live on Barrow Island, to my knowledge. Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr M. McGowan : No; you know exactly what I am talking about! You know about the royalty stream. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Labor Party cannot come to grips with the fact that it was a Liberal–National government that sat down on the beach and signed a heads of agreement with the Aboriginal traditional owners. Yes, it took another two years to finalise the agreement, but it was the largest and most significant act of self-determination by Aboriginal people in Australian history, and who did it? From the government’s perspective, it was the Liberal–National government. That is something members opposite could not do; they could not achieve that.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.