Barnett’s quarry vision

Photo credit: Barnett's press release about oil on Margaret River coast

Have you ever been to Margaret River in WA, for the surfing or the wine? Or visited the great karri forests in our south-west? If not, you might want to do it soon, because Premier Colin Barnett is doing his best to wreck them.

Putting an oil and gas operation on a Class-A nature reserve, or allowing a gas plant on top of ancient Aboriginal sites isn’t enough for this guy. Now he’s trying to give a permit for oil drilling just off the south-west coast, in an area that has been marked out to be a marine sanctuary. And he’s giving away bauxite mining permits on an area that covers state and national forests as well as farmland, and is home to several endangered (nearly extinct) animals.

As far as Colin Barnett’s concerned, WA is only good enough to be a quarry. Our biodiversity hotspots, our natural heritage, our places to holiday – not worth keeping. Dig it up and sell it off is his motto.

I’m sure the surfers at Margs won’t mind when an oil slick covers their waves and white sandy beaches. The people tasting some of Australia’s premium wines will just have to put their hands over their glasses to keep the mine-site dust out. Or maybe we’ll develop a little fame for having bauxite flavours in our best vintages.

And it’s not as if we’re even going to get any of the profits. There’ll be lots of money made, for sure – but most of it will go to the CEOs of fossil fuel companies, not to WA citizens. Apparently we haven’t got enough money to fund libraries or science centres anymore. Sorry kids: if you don’t want to work on the mines, we can’t afford to educate you.

I’m so mad about this. Guy Pearse wrote about Australia’s quarry vision and he’s right – some people can only see value in mining, and have forgotten that there’s more to an economy than selling fossil fuels. Premier Barnett can’t see the forest for the mine-site. Or the dollar-signs, maybe.

If we’re not careful, we’ll end up with Dutch disease. That’s when a country’s economy busts when all the mining is done, because they didn’t take the time to invest in other industries, or education, health, infrastructure and all the things that make a well-rounded society. It’s happened in Wales and in the USA’s Appalachian region. What makes us think we’re so different?

There are people trying to prevent WA from being dug up and sold overseas. Please give them your support:

• Save Our Marine Life
• Save the Kimberley
• Conservation Council of WA – you can hear an interview they did on RTRfm about the Margaret River oil proposal.