Broome Protestor locks Woodside out
Broome Protestor, George Bishop locks Woodside out
2nd October 2012 – Broome and the Kimberley interviewed Tegan Mossop regarding the latest lock-on by George Bishop who is attached to a 10 metre pole outside the Woodside Building in Broome.
“We are dealing with a company, Woodside, who is corrupt. Some members of the Broome community and Goolarabooloo Jabirr Jabirr, have been opposing the development of a multi billion dollar gas hub on sacred land at James Price Point, for many many years. There has been multiple court cases, letters, meetings, following all the legal processes but to no avail, as Premier Barnett and the State Government allow Woodside to work without the correct permits over and over again and change the laws to suit themselves and not represent the concerns of the people of Broome”.
“So concerned members of the Broome community, members of Goolarabooloo, members of Jabirr Jabirr groups, have been forced to take direct action today to highlight the corruption and the greed of Woodside and Premier Barnett. Its important that people be aware of whats at stake here, the cultural significance of Goolarabooloo Jabirr Jabirr sacred land. It’s a humpback whale nursery, the home of many vulnerable and threatened species, including critically endangered Hawksbill Turtles and Bilbies. Its one of the last remaining wildernesses in the world and large scale development is increasing, world wide and I remain bewildered how anyone can not see the value in the few remaining places like this on earth and are willing to destroy them, just for a few quick dollars that will be over in 50-100 years, the gas will be gone and the value of the place here, the ecology, the sacred connection that people have to their songline and this land, will be lost or damaged forever.”
“George Bishop is up a 10 metre pole outside the grassed area of Woodside Offices. Two ropes attached to the pole, run either side of the Woodside building, blocking off the four entrances, preventing anyone from entering and going about their work in this house of greed and corruption. The ropes are tensioned off to hold the pole and to hold George safely up there. Police arrived on scene earlier than expected this morning and the support rope that is holding George from the back is manned by protectors, who police have been slowly peeling off, which is quite concerning, particularly as the Broome Police, were quite aggressive, which isn’t always in their character. They were pushing people unnecessarily when no active aggression was projected towards them and moving people on from roles that are helping George be safe up there.”