Democracy is Alive and Well

A Friend of the Sound sent this letter to me recently, as a response to the Albany Advertiser's article, May 6th, 2010; "Offshore Oil, Gas Project Holds Promise."

DEMOCRACY IS ALIVE AND WELL! (AND IF YOU PAY US ENOUGH, WE'LL RETURN IT SAFELY).

I'm excited to hear the Albany is set to benefit from the next resource boom. It's fantastic that the state government is supporting actions to mitigate climate change and we are all doing our bit to ramp up the race to peak oil. Future generations? Who gives a damn. While the oil glass is half full, let's drink it down, before the bartender gives it to someone else.

I bet the whales are excited too, about the pollution and seismic disturbances they "won't be exposed to."

And the timing of this announcement couldn't be better, which the daily spewing of 5,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. A company with the pretty name of Arcadia Petroleum is bound to be more accountable than BP, for sure. You can even ask them .... oh they can't be contacted for comment? Nothing has gone wrong yet, has it?

Another benefit is to the democratic process. Mines are famous for their love of public participation and comment. Just look at how excited Grange is about what we've got to say about the dredging of the harbour for iron ore shipments. And we're all pretty glad to get rid of that ugly little cove under the old pea factory, it's the last reminder of natural coastline on the south side of the harbour, after all.

And the astronomical economic benefits! All you renters, wave your eviction notices in the air if you are as excited as I am about rising accommodation and food costs.

Maybe we'll even afford to find, or rebuild, the town jetty that disappeared overnight! Maybe even a new beachfront hotel!

Lucky, lucky us!

Keep a Weather Eye

Someone said to me today; "You know they're gonna do it anyway, don't you?"
Despite the question mark (that's just my grammar hand), it was delivered as a statement, and I've heard this statement a few times before today.

The Albany Port Authority, after all the dissent, appeals, blogs, submissions, letters to the newspaper and opposition by the city Council, will probably dredge the Sound and dump the spoils wherever they like, anyway. There's that Grand Vision to take into account - the long term prospective of the port being an axis of commerce over the next century. Jobs. Cash. International Status. Position. Twenty years worth of iron ore.

Opponents of the dredging the Sound are being viewed as a mild case of worms - annoying, expected and easily dealt with. To continue my bad metaphors, the Albany Port Authority has been described as "a prize fighter, just waiting for us to step into the ring."

The vermicide used in this situation to get rid of dissenters of the dredging will be a very simple pill - exhaustion. The Albany Port Authority is depending on the age old rythm of everyone jumping up and down for a year or so, organising petitions, protests, letters, submissions, appeals and outrage; standing in the rain outside festivals and markets, arguing in supermarkets and starting fights in pubs. Then one day, people will just be over the haranguing and being harangued. As soon as everyone is exhausted with the telling and being told, the Albany Port Authority will dredge the Sound.

This is not a fatalistic rant, so much as asking readers to keep a weather eye on these players who, intent on continuing their death of a thousand cuts of our harbour and Sound, are willing to wait. Conserve your energy. This is gonna take a while.

So, Who Are We Working For Again?

Even though the proposed dredging of King George Sound is an offensive of the Albany Port Authority, the compensation revenues from diesel-roasted cocoa beans, busted rudders and unexploded bombs are not going to fund this spectacular piece of ditch digging.

So who pays for all this infrastructure? Grange Resources are footing the bill - if they can come up with the cash. Grange have recently been approved to begin extracting iron ore from Wellstead, a tiny hamlet east of here, adjacent to the banksia-encrusted Fitzgerald National Park. Grange need a way to ship that ore to China. Albany's Princess Royal Harbour, being one of the best natural harbours in the world, is the chosen/cursed child.

And who are Grange Resources? Well, try googling 'Grange resources top 20 shareholders' and come to your own conclusion. Here is a piece written by my friend Michelle about these guys:

"I checked the list of shareholders and you guessed it; the Chinese have a huge stake in this. A company called Shagang International Holdings Limited has 40.43% (465,151,278 shares). Another Chinese company called Shagang International (Australia) Pty Ltd owns another 6.33%, so in total the Chinese own nearly 47% ....
.... if you check the shareholder register, you will see that a Singaporean investment company owns another share (call me paranoid)." Michelle Frantom. www.michellefrantom.blogspot.com

On the bright side, real estate prices in the boondocks will skyrocket for a coupla years and homebuyers will be re-inspired after B.H.P.'s unceremonious dumping of a certain south western community. Maybe some enthusiastic soul will even build a brand new supermarket in Wellstead.

Eventually the Cape ships, obese with exportable ore, will chug in and out of the Sound. After The Albany Port Authority has dredged the Sound, our waters will be be dealt their killer blow and the last natural southern part of the Princess filled in with her own spoils.

The money from this project is not going to stay in this country. The Port Authority gets the dredging paid for and Grange Resources gets cheap iron ore. Sometimes the Chinese government's aggressive garnering of food, mineral and water resources is a bit overwhelming.
The Tibetans have been saying that for quite a while now.