Burrup opposition won't go away: Greens

June 12, 2002 - The State Government has signalled its intention to ignore local, national and international opposition to siting an industrial estate on the Burrup Peninsula, pitting themselves against a broad range of stakeholders including the people of Karratha and Dampier who are the supposed beneficiaries of the developments.

'I can't stress enough that the Government is setting itself on a collision course with large numbers of extremely determined people across a broad range of fields,' Greens (WA) MLC Robin Chapple stated. 'We will not allow the Burrup to be vandalised for any reason, and we will not stand by and let the Government bulldoze the local community in the name of 'development.' '

'The Government has stated that it is convening an 'Expert Panel' to review the work of Robert Bednarik, whose paper 'The Survival of the Murujuga (Burrup) Petroglyphs' was released last week. Bednarik has stated that the entire rock art collection will be erased by acid fallout if industry is allowed to expand onto the Burrup. Once the Government's studies have been completed, the Government will have no choice but to direct industry to set up at Maitland.'

The Government continues to take advice from the Office of Major Projects, which has consistently sought to marginalise or play down the values of this truly remarkable and historic place. 'This site is older than the Pyramids. It's one of the wonders of the world, it's on our doorstep, and it's going to be preserved.'

'The Government, in delaying the inevitable, is in fact creating exactly the kinds of risk they are seeking to avoid. Give industry a place to go now, and you won't have to explain to the proponents in a few months why you have no backup plan in place.'

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