WA Premier Barnett set to ditch talks with land council, plans force land acquisitions for LNG gas hub
Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said on Wednesday that negotiations with traditional land owners in the Kimberley area has essentially bogged down and the state may have to compulsorily allocate land to be used by the proposed $30 billion LNG gas station.
Mr Barnett admitted that talking with the Kimberly Land Council is almost impossible for him at this stage as he told ABC that the state government is working very hard to push for the best interests of majority of WA residents.
He added that the council may not be in a good position to work for an amenable conclusion on the negotiation.
However, Mr Barnett gave assurance that his decision would be for the benefit of the greater good of the state, which he said he would have to make very soon, stressing that he would never sleep at night should the development project would prove detrimental to the local environment.
The premier complained that dealing with the individual factions within the land council made it more difficult to arrive at a consensus, as he praised the council's executive officer, Wayne Bergmann, for doing his best to work for an agreement.
All the delays and infightings though proved too much for Mr Barnett as he stressed that "when you just have individual groups within the overall KLC taking legal action against each other, I can't deal with it anymore."
On the other hand, opposition MP Mark McGowan warned that resorting to compulsory acquisition would only heighten the animosity between the opposing parties, especially the negative feelings that traditional land owners would harbour against the government if the LNG facility if forced into their territory.
Mr McGowan suggested instead that the government should retreat for now "then appoint a dedicated negotiator, allow that process to take its course, rather than the steps that Mr Barnett has taken."