ROCK ART PROTEST PLANNED

Speaking from her hospital bed in Perth, Yinjibarndi elder Tootsie Daniel urges people to attend a protest against the Scarborough gas development and proposed Perdaman urea plant on Sunday.

Save Our Songlines supporters are staging a March for Country to protest at the expansion of the natural gas industry at Murujuga, the Burrup Peninsula.

Yinjibarndi elder Tootsie Daniel said she was shocked at the news the Perdaman gas plant was to go ahead, destroying more rock art sites.

“All of a sudden I heard that Perdaman was going ahead and who gave them the permission?” she said. “Because that country is sacred. They should have known to leave thing but those things are very sacred. That’s ancient times stories there belonging to us. That’s our museum. How are we going to take people to learn about the museum for Walkabout and Walkabout trail? Its not worth! What about our culture, our knowledge and our rangers? What are they going to show to these people? They are just going to show these people a bare land, bare country.”

Traditional custodian Josie Alec spoke from Geneva in Switzerland where she has just addressed a United Nations forum.

“We are here to protect the environment, we are here to protect our culture,” she said. “We are here as women and to protect our children for the next generations. If we don’t have Mother Earth to put our feet on every morning, why would we do it?”

Protestors will assemble at Hearson’s Cove for breakfast and activities at 8.30am this Sunday July 10, with the march commencing at 10.30am.