Rock art heritage listing to attract eyes of the world
The Murujuga rock art landscape in Western Australia was listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a heritage site on Friday following lobbying by the federal government.
The inscription recognises the First Nations cultural value of the more than one million engravings in WA's northwest, some of which are thought to be more than 50,000 years old.
The site was previously put forward to UNESCO for World Heritage listing in 2023 but Australia's application was referred back in May.
UNESCO recommended state and federal governments address concerns that nearby acid emissions were degrading the art, including those from Woodside's Burrup gas hub, which was recently granted provisional approval to operate for another 40 years.
Federal and state governments and the Murujuga Cultural Landscape have been celebrating the win.
But other traditional owners in Paris for the decision have been left disappointed after failing to secure protections from industry.
"Global scrutiny will now be applied to what is happening at Murujuga," Mardathoonera woman and Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper said.
"You cannot have industry and culture coexist. It's never happened. It never works," she said.
Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said the "world is now watching" and urged the federal environment minister to reject Woodside's gas project extension.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said his government was committed to protecting the site now and for future generations.
"It has been a great privilege to support the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Murujuga to see this globally significant cultural landscape included on the World Heritage List," Senator Watt said.
Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chair Peter Hicks said it was an "exceptionally proud moment".
"It is recognition of the hard work that MAC has put in to progressing this nomination, but it is also recognition of the way our ancestors have managed this extraordinary landscape for over 50,000 years," he said.
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SBS Australia
2 days ago
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"The scientific data clearly demonstrated the advanced weathering of the Murujuga petroglyphs from heightened levels of certain airborne pollutants from the nearby Woodside gas processing facility, yet we saw this repeatedly dismissed by different levels of government, with graphs and data being manipulated to back up the narrative that no conditions were required for the listing. "One only hopes that Murujuga's listing as a World Heritage Site spurs the government to no longer shirk their responsibility to conserve and protect this globally significant rock art site, and we see proper measures put in place to stop the polluting gas industry from degrading our First Nations cultural heritage." 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Environment Minister Murray Watt says the addition of Murujuga rock art to the World Heritage list over the weekend won't affect his pending decision on the future of Woodside's nearby North West Shelf gas processing plant. UNESCO granted the World Heritage status overnight on Saturday after intense lobbying from the Commonwealth and WA governments, along with traditional owners from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, to overturn a draft decision not to list the site. Senator Watt described the decision as a 'really special moment not only for traditional owners who have been working towards it for more than two decades, but for Australians more broadly.' However, the minister said the listing would not affect any development application decisions that had already happened or were underway. He gave preliminary approval in May to extend the life of the NWS plant out to 2068. The final decision is awaiting Woodside's response to conditions that are yet to be made public. 'When I made my proposed decision for the North West Shelf extension, I said that we would be applying strict conditions and preservation of the rock art was central to my decision when I made that a few weeks ago,' Senator Watt told ABC radio on Monday. 'But I guess this (World Heritage listing) is also a way of keeping future governments and future industry honest to make sure that it does have this extra layer of protection against any inappropriate development in the future, and that's a good thing.' Some environmental campaigners and the Save Our Songlines group led by Raelene Cooper had opposed the heritage listing, instead seeking to have UNESCO stick to a draft recommendation that called for all development on the Burrup Peninsula to cease and existing industrial activity to be dismantled to protect the rock art. Senator Watt said ultimately the committee was persuaded by WA research demonstrating the industrial activity in the area had not caused acid rain.
