Recently re-elected Greens WA Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC has expressed dismay at last night’s turn of events in the James Price Point saga.
“I am deeply saddened that yet again, the people of Broome have been pushed to breaking point by the heavy-handed tactics of the Barnett-Grylls government, as shown by the public disturbance reported at yesterday’s meeting of the Kimberley Joint Development Assessment Panel,” Mr Chapple said.
“It’s no wonder some people react bitterly, when they see their democratically elected Council sidelined by these unrepresentative bodies.
“The Government should take heed of yesterday’s fracas, because it is surely but a precursor to what will happen around the state, as more and more vital decisions affecting people’s day-to-day lives are taken out of their hands and given to so-called “experts”, with locally elected citizens in the minority.
“In this instance, we have the laughable proposition that it is somehow OK to drop a Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) camp for nearly 1,000 workers into the middle of an “Agricultural” zoned area adjoining small rural properties where people are pursuing organic horticultural activities.
“Unfortunately, we shouldn’t be surprised, as the whole James Price Point venture has clearly been flawed from the outset and only continues today thanks to the blinkered, fanatical determination of the Premier,” Mr Chapple concluded.
