Expert Calls to Protect 50,000 Years Old Indigenous Rock Art from Fertilizer Plant

The new federal environment minister has been urged to halt a fertilizer factory from being built on a world heritage-listed site in Western Australia and to intervene quickly to prevent the multinational corporation behind the proposals from erasing Indigenous rock art.

Rock Paintings — Image from Bradshaw Art Australia

Developing a Billion Dollar Factory

Perdaman is developing a $4.5 billion factory on the Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula. The plant, which has the support of the state government and was once sponsored by the federal government, will necessitate the destruction of Aboriginal art dating back to almost 50,000 years ago.

Sussan Ley, the then-environment minister, ordered Perdaman to halt construction at the site in March while she evaluated a request for emergency preservation of the rock art brought by two traditional owners, Raelene Cooper and Josie Alec.

However, less than three weeks later, just days before the government's caretaker term began, Ley informed Cooper and Alec that she would not accept the emergency protection application because Perdaman had informed her that they would not be able to remove the art for another two months.

Cooper, a Mardudhunera woman and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation member, and Alec, a Kuruma/Marthudhunera woman and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation member, sent a new application for emergency protection to Tanya Plibersek, the new environment minister, and Linda Burney, the new Indigenous affairs minister, on Monday.

Cooper and Alec have asked Plibersek to safeguard four petroglyphs that Perdaman proposes to relocate, adding that the company's two-month deadline for Ley has passed.

Opposing the Plant

The two further stated that the plant should not be built on Murujuga property because it would desecrate their land. If developed, it should be relocated from Burrup Peninsula since the plant's acidic emissions would destroy petroglyphs in the vicinity even after they were relocated.

The Guardian reached out to Perdaman for comment.

The factory planned to utilize gas from Woodside's neighboring Scarborough project to manufacture two million tonnes of fertilizer-grade urea yearly. Traditional owners are concerned that the project would endanger petroglyphs.

Woodside refutes claims that its development on the Burrup would endanger the petroglyphs. According to a spokeswoman, a study has shown that the company's activities had no influence. The company supports a "world-best-practice program to monitor and conserve the rock art" co-managed by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and government authorities.

According to the spokeswoman, the corporation worked with traditional custodians and reacted to requests for environmental monitoring, archaeological and ethnographic surveys, and access to independent expert opinion.

Plibersek's spokesman stated that she had received the application for preserving and conserving Murujuga traditional heritage under section nine of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

"The minister's office received the application today, and the department is currently reviewing it."

Perdaman claims to have gotten consent from traditional owners for its plans and has received $255 million in state and federal government financing to improve water and marine infrastructure at the site.

Misleading the Community

On the other hand, Cooper previously told Guardian Australia that community members had been misled about Perdaman's ambitions.

Cooper stated in March that "the elders never endorsed this." "They couldn't comprehend it." Nobody has ever articulated what was truly going on to them.

"I indicated that they would start removing the rock art, and they said no." They said that over and over."+