❓ Question regarding the significance of the agreement with traditional owners at James Price Point for the Browse Basin natural gas project and the next steps. Premier outlines the benefits and future plans.
AnsweredQoN 258Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
JAMES PRICE POINT — AGREEMENT WITH TRADITIONAL OWNERS
Mr Speaker — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT
Mr Speaker — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
The SPEAKER : Take a seat, member for North West. Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mrs M.H. Roberts interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time today along with the member for Rockingham and the member for Cannington. I would like to hear your question, member for North West. Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mr V.A. CATANIA : Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Since the Liberal–National government came to office it has been working hard to realise the development of the Browse Basin natural gas for the benefit of the state and of the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. Will the Premier outline to the house the significance of the agreement reached earlier this month with the traditional owners of the land at James Price Point and explain the next steps in getting the project up and running? Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
I thank the member for North West for that question. Indeed, I think the decisive vote by the Aboriginal representatives in favour of the LNG precinct was a historic moment for not only the Kimberley and Western Australia but also the nation generally. It was important that a photo of Wayne Bergman, CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, was on the front page of The Australian . He deserved to have his photo there. Although this agreement has taken some time to achieve—it was always my desire and the government’s desire to reach agreement by consent—we initiated a process according to the Native Title Act of compulsory acquisition, and they ran parallel. However, it is to the great credit of the Aboriginal people that they held their vote; they had the integrity of their vote and they made their own decision. I am pleased about that, and I think everyone should be pleased about that. That is perhaps one of the most important, if not the most important, acts of self-determination by Aboriginal people in this country. The settlement will involve a mere three and a half thousand hectares—not at lot of land in the context of the Kimberley—over which native title claims will be relinquished over the period of the project. In return, as part of that, something like one and a half billion dollars in benefits of various sorts will come from the initial proponent, Woodside Petroleum, and from the state government. The commonwealth has not contributed to this at this point, but I hope it will. The state government contribution has a value of around $250 million over the life of the project, and it will be delivered collectively across both Woodside and the state with cash components. There will be also training, employment, housing, education, health services and land grants. It will be a substantial package. This has been a great opportunity for the Aboriginal people of that area to make their own decision and achieve genuine economic independence. As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
As to what happens now, I guess in every sense the real work begins. It will not be easy to achieve what I think everyone will want to see come out of this agreement. In anticipation, the state will start to deliver some of the components of that agreement. Woodside will get to a final investment decision about June or July next year and I think that will be positive. But we will move forward with the Aboriginal people and Woodside in delivering some of the benefits. That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
That will be the only LNG precinct in the Kimberley. That is important. It will be a multi-user site. The land is currently unallocated crown land and will not belong to Woodside. It will remain with the state government and sites will be leased to Woodside and any other proponent. I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
I think the Aboriginal people showed a great deal of courage; they had serious divisions within their communities and they endured an extreme amount of pressure from the media. Anti-development groups, which are entitled to their opinion, did not want to see any development of the Kimberley and put great pressure on the Aboriginal people and tried to intimidate them even up to the last day when they took their vote. I think that was very unfair, very ungracious and very un-Australian. I congratulate the Aboriginal people on that decision. It is now up to this government and successive governments over the life of this project to make sure those benefits are genuine and realised.
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