The Federal seat of Kalgoorlie is an economic, environmental and cultural giant. The big political issues of the 21st Century - mining and energy, conservation and the environment, tourism and regional development, water resources: we’ve got it all! The recent approval of the massive Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island and the go-ahead for Woodside’s Burrup Peninsula plant at the ancient aboriginal rock art site are two prime examples.

Even the local MHR Barry Haase has been appearing in TV advertisements that are a cross between a travelogue and tourist promotion for the electorate. In fact he has shown uncharacteristic interest in the environment lately. A controversy over nuclear waste and reactors brought the third response in as many weeks from Barry on environmental issues.

The first comment by Haase was in opposition to a call by Broome wildlife identity Malcolm Douglas to reject a gas plant on the Maret Islands off the far north Kimberley coast. Apparently Malcolm is not against the project just the proposed site. The company is having more local consultations this week .

The second was a dispute between the Acting State Environment Minister Kim Chance and Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull over why the Federal government has yet to nominate the Ningaloo Reef for world heritage listing. What Kevin Rudd likes to call the blame game between the Federal and State governments! MP rejects clams of Commonwealth inaction on Ningaloo listing (ABC 5 October 2007 ) The typo is the ABC’s not mine. I didn’t notice any clams on the reef when I visited last week. 

The third was a response to ALP candidate Sharon Thiel’s opposition to having nuclear waste dumps or reactors in WA.  Haase is against nuclear waste facilities. I am not sure about his position on nuclear reactors. My email about youdecide2007 has gone unanswered so far. I will try again.
The former member Graeme Campbell stirred the pot by reminding voters:
“When I was the Federal member, on two occasions I said I was in favour on the long-term storage of nuclear waste and my vote went up.”
Federal uranium stoush (Kalgoorlie Miner, 11th October 2007)

It will be interesting to see if he is a candidate this time. Perhaps he’ll join Pauline Hanson again. I’m sure he could get some mileage out Sudanese refugees as anti-immigration has been one of his battlecries.

There is plenty for the new Greens candidate Robin Chapple to get his policy teeth into. We are either entering into an era of the best environmental safeguards in the world or some of the biggest unnatural disasters. Hope to see the Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Shadow Peter Garrett during the next 6 weeks. We are owed that much.