Murujuga traditional owners 'sidelined' in government's North West Shelf approval
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt waved through the approval three weeks ago, allowing Australia's largest oil and gas facility to continue operating in Western Australia's Pilbara region until 2070.
Ngarluma woman Samantha Walker penned a letter to the government on Tuesday last week, gathering signatures from multiple traditional owners and elders with connections to the landscape.
"Our people have not consented to the proposal," she wrote.
Mr Watt gave Woodside 10 days to respond to the approval's "strict" conditions, which he indicated focused on the protection of ancient Aboriginal rock art.
Last Friday, the gas giant breezed past that deadline and neither Woodside nor Mr Watt could confirm the date negotiations would be finalised when asked by the ABC.
Ms Walker said she was "alarmed" that the right of reply was afforded solely to Woodside.
"We understand there are statutory requirements, however, the approvals process has sidelined Murujuga Ngurrara-ngarli [Murujuga traditional owners]," she wrote.
"They have a process with Woodside and the government, but they don't take into account our cultural processes, which we have as well, which is very saddening."
Ms Walker repeated calls for Mr Watt to visit Murujuga — the Aboriginal name for the Burrup Peninsula — where Woodside's main processing plant is located, about 1,500 kilometres north of Perth.
The area is home to some of the world's oldest known rock art, the preservation of which became a flashpoint amid the extension decision.
The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) administers cultural matters involving the peninsula on behalf of five language groups: the Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yaburara, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples.
The corporation was formed in 2006 and granted joint management of Murujuga National Park in exchange for extinguishing native title rights to land earmarked for industrial development.
The chair of MAC, Peter Hicks, flew to Canberra this week to meet with Mr Watt.
Mr Hicks said he was confident findings of a two-year rock art monitoring program, carried out by MAC and the WA government, showed the North West Shelf project was not currently harming the ancient petroglyphs.
The rock art is central to the organisation's bid to have Murujuga listed by the United Nations as a World Heritage site.
This goal was thrown into doubt by a UNESCO draft decision calling for the area's industrialisation to be halted, triggering protests from the federal government.
While Ms Walker backed the embattled World Heritage push, she said more consultation on the North West Shelf project and its impact was needed.
"Broader consultation means speaking with the whole community, all of the families, the connections who have a connection to the place," Ms Walker explained.
"The minister needs to speak to us, according to our cultural protocols," she said.
She argued that the violation of traditional owners' informed consent was grounds for a human rights complaint, and current economic arrangements between Woodside and traditional owners had become obsolete.
"It is severely remiss of the Commonwealth to consider approving a major project while relying on an outdated agreement that is in urgent need of modernisation," Ms Walker said.
Mr Watt did not respond to specific questions put to him by the ABC.
Samantha Hepburn, a professor at Deakin Law School, said it was not typical for proponents to miss response deadlines, although this case was "unique" given its magnitude and the extent of public interest.
Dr Hepburn believed Mr Watt possessed the legal discretion to make the conditions public and would be "justified" in doing so because the approval was so controversial.
"We see a broad range of the community very, very concerned about the impact that this extension is likely to have and wanting to make sure that the conditions are capable of addressing those concerns," she said.
The decision to extend the major gas project is currently facing court challenges on several fronts.
Dr Hepburn said publicising the conditions would be a show of good faith ahead of federal environmental law reform, the subject of high-level talks hosted by Mr Watt on Thursday.
"Showing a preparedness to be responsive to the concerns, I think, is a very, very important thing that the government has the opportunity to [do]," she said.
Ms Walker said she had only received a response from WA Senator Dorinda Cox, who could not be reached for comment.
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