Flip Prior
The West
A crowd of about 1000 people gathered at the Nicholas Emo Centre in Broome this morning for a "we love Broome" event - the latest in a series of peaceful protests against the proposed gas hub at James Price Point.
Jabirr Jabirr woman Mitch Torres led the event along with representatives of other well-known "old families of Broome" - Steve Pigram, Alan Pigram, Colleen Masuda and Mark Manado.
Ms Torres said those attending were the "heart and soul" of the community which was under "creeping stress" from development.
"This threat to James Price Point and our community from the social, environmental and potential cultural impacts are of grave concern to us all," she said.
After the event, Ms Torres said she was pleased with the turnout.
"Ot's a show of the concerns the communities have - people are still fired up about it and they know there are alternatives now," she said.
"What happened yesterday with the courts was another indication that things are changing."
She said the people present were Broome residents who held down jobs and had children to feed and mortgages to pay, so would not be spotted on the front lines of protest actions.
"They cannot get out there - they have to make a living. But they are people who live here constantly. There's only a few of us who put ourselves out there in public knowing there will be a backlash. I personally have been verbally abused by people who are for the gas ... But that's not going to stop me."
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