Musicians Running Out of Material

20 October 2009

The announcement of James Price point as the preferred location for the gas hub off Broome is a welcome announcement. The blessing it has received by the Kimberley Land Council and the state government are also excellent developments as the Pluto project looks to inject much needed capital into aboriginal groups within the Kimberley. Predictably however there are high profile protestors who are more interested in vague moral grandstanding, than improving the lives of their fellow man.

Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hurst is one of those totally against development within the Broome region, which is interesting coming from a man whose band wrote classics such as “Beds are Burning.” He is not alone in his criticism with fellow musicians such as Missy Higgins being very vocal in their protest to the proposed development.  

I fail to understand what makes musicians qualified to comment on such issues. Sure they have a profile and are no doubt skilled in developing catchy tunes and slogans, yet they are qualified for little else. When you compare their emotional calls to action against the thorough analysis conducted by numerous  professionals who have a record of delivering sustainable projects  their argument fails any real test.

As with the wild rivers legislation in Queensland, Australia’s left needs to take responsibility for the plight of our aboriginal population. Every Australian is entitled to a quality education, healthcare and a secure environment and whilst Missy and Rob where bought up in these worlds (Rob Hurst went to an exclusive Sydney private school with Malcolm Turnbull, whilst Missy Higgins is from a wealthy family in the Geelong area of Victoria) many Aboriginal people are not.

For taking the moral high ground is easy when you come from a privileged background, yet if they really care about the Broome community they will support the Kimberly gas hub. The Kimberley Land Council recognizes this and the opportunities sustainable development in the region will provide.  As local elder Frank Sebastien says "I might not get anything, not a cent. But what about my grandchildren and their children? They won't suffer the way we did and my fathers and forefathers before. I said we're not going to miss out on this."

Maybe Rob and Missy should recall some of the words from beds are burning, for “the time has come, a fact’s a fact it belongs to them, we’re gunna give it back.” That’s right Rob let us just deal with the facts not emotional diatribe and if we are gunna give aboriginals their future back we need to empower them to make their own decisions.

This is the point improving the lot of future generations. So why are musicians against this? Maybe they are scared of running out of material for songs.