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Scientist rejects 'gag' accusation over Murujuga rock art report
A lead scientist behind a major report monitoring the impact of pollution on the ancient rock art of Murujuga in Western Australia has broken his silence, saying industry and the more than one million petroglyphs can co-exist, while rejecting accusations of a gag on researchers. Professor Ben Mullins, who helps lead a team of dozens of scientists doing long-term research on the site, hasn't spoken publicly since their 800-page report was released a fortnight ago. On Friday morning he spoke publicly for the first time and told ABC Radio National Breakfast host Sally Sara the group's findings suggest there may have been some impact on the rocks, but that air quality has improved in the area over time. "The evidence [is] that the effects we have measured, this increased porosity in the rocks, most likely happened in the past," he said. "There's nothing in our report that suggests industry and the rock art can't coexist and the emissions can't be managed to an appropriate level." The federal government has given provisional approval to Woodside Energy's bid to extend its controversial North West Shelf gas project until 2070, angering climate activists and some traditional owners who say the emissions produced would be a "death sentence" for the ancient rock carvings. The provisional approval came shortly after a major blow to efforts to have the Murujuga Cultural Landscape listed as a World Heritage site, which has been supported by the federal and state government, as well as the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation. Professor Mullins said he supported the effort to have the landscape listed. 'It's a really amazing place and it really deserves World Heritage protection,' he said. Just days before federal Environment Minister Murray Watt confirmed his provisional approval of the North West Shelf project extension, the West Australian government released the 800-page monitoring report. WA Premier Roger Cook pointed to its findings to argue industrial activity was having no ongoing impact on the rock art. That led to a furious response from University of Western Australia professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith, who accused the state government of misrepresenting the full report in shorter summary report he described as 'propaganda'. Professor Smith spectacularly ripped up a copy of the summary report in front of cameras at the Western Australia State Parliament last week. He said the academics who worked on the paper had been under a "lockdown" and weren't allowed to speak about the work. His comments came alongside a report by 7:30 that another leader of the rock art monitoring project, Emeritus Professor Adrian Baddeley, wrote to WA's Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to complain about "unacceptable interference" in the summary report, calling it "factually incorrect". But Professor Mullins rejected claims the summary report had been misleading. "[It] was always intended to be a simple lay person summary for the general public. It went through a process to develop it," he said "I don't think it misrepresents the findings in the main report and the important thing is that the full report, all 800 plus pages plus the associated documents, have all been published exactly as we the scientist wrote them. "We all stand by them." He said researchers had "certainly not" been gagged. The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is now in talks with Woodside Energy over conditions on the final approval of the North West Shelf extension. Environmental groups have written an open letter to Minister Watt calling on him to open the consultation process to the public. The letter, also signed by former WA Labor premiers Peter Dowding and Dr Carmen Lawerence, called the North West Shelf extension "one of the most significant decisions that has or will ever be made by any Australian Minister for the Environment". "The last time public comment was invited on the overall proposal was nearly six years ago — during the WA state EPA assessment in 2019," the letter said. "A huge amount of new information has become available on the impacts and implications of the proposal since that time, including groundbreaking new information released in recent days." It's understood the minister will not open the project to further public consultation. A spokesperson for Woodside said the company has taken proactive steps over many years to manage the impacts of the North West Shelf project. "The latest findings from the state-led, independent peer-reviewed Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program build on earlier independent research," they said. "They support the view that responsible operations, backed by science, Traditional Custodian leadership and collaboration, can help protect the unique heritage for future generations."
