WA land grab aims to provide 'certainty' for gas project
03 Sep 2010
Source: The Australian
The West Australian government has begun proceedings to compulsorily acquire 2500 hectares of pristine Kimberley land to build a gas processing hub. The move comes after Premier Colin Barnett admitted defeat in his long-running attempts to negotiate a consent agreement with the traditional Aboriginal landowners. Mr Barnett issued the controversial acquisition instructions today amid fears that major resources projects were being put at risk by the delays.
Oil and gas giant Woodside - which intends to use the gas plant for a proposed $30 billion LNG project in the Browse Basin - issued a statement saying the move would provide greater certainty for the development.
Mr Barnett said the acquisition could take up to 18 months to finalise and he had not given up hope that an agreement could still be reached with the traditional owners in the meantime. He said discussions with them would continue in parallel to the acquisition process. The Premier said he had not taken the decision lightly and he conceded there could be criticism nationally and even internationally.
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