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ABC News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Scientist expresses concern WA government department interfered with rock art report linked to North West Shelf approval process
A leading scientist has expressed "grave concern" about "unacceptable interference" in a major study of the impacts of industrial emissions on ancient Aboriginal rock carvings in a complaint obtained by the ABC. On Friday, the West Australian government released the long-awaited results from its ongoing Rock Art Monitoring Program, which is studying petroglyphs on the Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, near Karratha in WA's north. The five-year study is trying to determine whether industrial pollution has degraded Indigenous rock carvings thought to be 40,000 years old. The $27 million rock art monitoring project is being led by the WA government in collaboration with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, using experts from Curtin University. The latest results have been considered by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt, as part of his soon-to-be-released ruling on whether to approve a 45-year licence extension of Woodside's North West Shelf LNG facilities on the Burrup Peninsula. The 800-page second-year monitoring report was completed last year but was not made public until Friday afternoon, alongside a summary document that highlighted some key findings. In an email obtained by the ABC, the report's chief statistician, Emeritus Professor Adrian Baddeley, wrote to staff from WA's Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) on Tuesday afternoon to outline his concerns about the way one of the graphs in the scientific paper had been handled. The goal of the five-year study is to establish acceptable and unacceptable emissions standards to help protect the rock art, so the WA government can set air quality monitoring standards to regulate industry. Professor Baddeley, one of the report's lead authors, is a member of the Australian Academy of Science, which represents the nation's most distinguished scientists. His complaint email focused specifically on a graph that he claimed DWER had asked to be altered for its summary report, against his wishes. The graph in question included benchmarks for acceptable levels of pollution, with two lower guideline levels serving as "early warning" indicators, and a higher standard level that is the "threshold at which there is a risk of unacceptable change in rock art condition". In his complaint letter, Professor Baddeley said the graph prepared by Curtin University scientists had included two early warning indicator lines, but one of them — a green line, which presented a lower threshold — had been deleted from the summary document. "In early April, in preparation for these publications, DWER requested that Curtin provide a version of the figure with the green dashed line removed," Professor Baddeley wrote in his email. "I formally declined this request as chief statistician, with reasons given, in a message relayed to DWER by the statistical team. "It appears that, sometime after this correspondence, in my absence, Curtin staff were prevailed upon to delete the green line, in direct contravention of my decision. In his email, Professor Baddeley said the summary document had incorrectly stated that: "The research indicates that the current levels of the pollutants of most concern for the rock art are lower than the interim guideline levels". "If the green-aqua dashed line were reinstated, it would show that five of the monitoring sites were experiencing pollutant levels above the interim guideline, and again these are the five sites closest to industry," he wrote. On Tuesday afternoon, WA Greens MLC Jess Beckerling used Question Time in parliament to ask the WA government to explain the discrepancy between the two graphs. "Who made the decision to remove the [green] line from the […] summary document," Ms Beckerling asked. Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn responded by saying the research summary document was drafted by DWER with input from Curtin University and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation. "The graph in the summary document was simplified to focus on the interim guideline Environmental Quality Criteria (EQC) that was recommended by Curtin in its Interim EQC Report," he said. One of the report's key findings was that the upper layer of the most common rock in the area had elevated porosity — or degradation — in samples taken from areas closer to Dampier, which has been home to industrial operations since the 1960s. The paper stated that it appeared that historic emissions from the former Dampier Power Station, which retired in the 1980s, were likely to be the major contributor to elevated porosity. Speaking to 7.30 on the condition of anonymity, a senior scientist involved in the ongoing monitoring program said that there was disappointment among the research team about how the report's findings had been spun. "It's annoying that there are a lot of euphemisms being rolled out to kind of relativise or minimise the conclusions," they said. On Monday, WA Premier Roger Cook said the second year Rock Art Monitoring Report should provide the community with confidence that current industrial processes on the Burrup have "not had an impact in relation to the rock art". "What it did point to was some industrial processing, I think it was a power generator that was placed there in the 1970s, which may have had an impact in relation to the porosity of some of the rock arts," Mr Cook said. "But it's very pleasing that no ongoing impact as a result of that industrial activity." The scientist said they were "dismayed" at the WA premier's comments. "I completely disagreed with every sentence," they said. On Monday, 7.30 wrote an email to Curtin University's Professor Ben Mullins, the program research lead, asking him to clarify if the premier's comments stating that the report had found "no ongoing impact as a result of industrial activity" were accurate. He did not respond in time for this story's publication. At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Cook doubled down on his previous remarks. "The science has said that modern industrial developments do not have a long-term impact in terms of the quality of the rock art," he said. The scientist who spoke on condition of anonymity said the report's most important findings were that rocks closest to industry had elevated porosity. "That's not a demonstration that pollution is observed to be harming rocks in the field but we cannot find any other explanation," they said. They said some of the scientists were "pretty upset" that the message coming from the government was "almost the opposite of that". "We're talking about what is probably the cumulative effect of decades of pollution," they said. "There is this, terminological or verbal gymnastics about whether it all happened in the past and is no longer happening. "It may not be happening at the same rate. The general amount of pollution could now be less than it was, and the rate of degradation could be lower. "But there's no reason to conclude that it has stopped." They said the scientists were not allowed to speak to media as a condition of their contracts but told 7.30 they felt compelled to speak out. "We have instincts about academic freedom, about the need to protect the truth," they said. "If you're a scientist, you make a lifelong commitment to the truth, to finding the truth [and] respecting the truth. On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Swinbourn told parliament the Rock Art Monitoring Program was "the most comprehensive and robust scientific study of its kind in the world". "The monitoring program has not observed damage to rock art," Mr Swinbourn said. "However, higher levels of porosity — which are microscopic gaps in the rock surface — have been observed in granophyre rocks near Dampier. "Increased porosity would make the rock art more prone to change over time. "The report finds this is likely due to emissions in the 1970s and 80s, which were two to three times higher than today. "Further work will be undertaken to investigate this finding." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Tasmanian government releases 4WD track management plan, as Aboriginal groups flag legal fight
A decade-long fight over four-wheel-driving in areas of Tasmania's north-west rich in Aboriginal cultural sites may not be over, despite the government releasing a new management strategy. The day after the strategy was released, members of the Aboriginal community spoke out in opposition and called for more consultation. In the run up to the 2014 election the Liberals — who have been in government since that election — promised to reopen three off-road tracks in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area (APCA). The tracks had been closed by the previous government amid concerns for several cultural sites, which included middens and burial grounds. The closures prompted protests at Smithton and fierce statewide debate before a Federal Court ruling in 2016 found in favour of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre that the area had an "outstanding heritage value to the nation". Five years later, in 2021, an Aboriginal heritage report found cultural sites could not be adequately preserved if the tracks were reopened, and the government backed down. The government then embarked on the development of the West Coast Off-Road Vehicle Strategy, which Parks Minister Nick Duigan now says will help sustainably manage existing four-wheel-drive tracks in the area "while ensuring natural and cultural values are respected and protected". Mr Duigan said the strategy would be rolled out over the next three years, and featured plans to upgrade tracks and mitigate damage to cultural and environmental values, improve camping facilities, directional signage and interpretive information. The Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) website breaks down the plan over the next three years, beginning with work on the Balfour and Sandy Cape tracks and facilities and including Aboriginal heritage assessment in the area. In the second year the PWS plans to expand the work to the wider West Coast and collaborate with Tasmanian Aboriginal people to identify and protect heritage sites near existing tracks. In the third year the plan is to introduce a driver pass system to the wider west coast, improve information services, develop marketing material and support tourism experiences. Mr Duigan said investments would be made in capital infrastructure to allow the PWS to implement the strategy over the coming years. The strategy follows a draft version, which was published in May 2024 ahead of a two-month public comment period, which received more than 180 submissions. In a statement for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and Cape Barren Aboriginal Association, spokesperson Michael Mansell said the strategy had its priorities "back to front". "Instead of focusing on protecting Aboriginal heritage, the report emphasises improving access to 4WD," Mr Mansell said. "The focus of government action should be protection of Aboriginal cultural context on the west coast and access proposals should only be considered in that context." Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre chief executive, Heather Sculthorpe, said her organisation had not been involved in the development of the strategy. She said she was concerned the government may attempt to reopen the closed tracks, but the strategy report says it "does not contemplate opening new tracks or reopening previously closed tracks". Submissions were made during the draft strategy's public comment period by other Tasmanian Aboriginal groups, including by Rochelle Godwin from the Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation (CHAC). In her submission, Ms Godwin said CHAC failed "to see actionable or tangible outcomes" throughout the draft strategy to ensure the views of Tasmanian Aboriginal people were represented in the strategy. She said there was no detail in the draft about how protection of Aboriginal heritage would be achieved. "CHAC believe that protection can be achieved through mutual respect and education of cultural values," Ms Godwin said. "For this to have effect, it needs to be reiterated and encouraged at many points along the coastline." Her call for education was echoed by Lyndon Kettle, president of the Devonport 4WD Club. Mr Kettle said he supported ongoing access to off-road tracks in the region but also believes the Aboriginal cultural history in the area must be protected, and that visitors should be better educated. He supported a suggestion by Ms Godwin that anyone seeking a permit to access the area be required to watch a short film about Aboriginal history and culture in the APCA and wider west coast. He said he had come across rock carvings and other historic sites in the area that should be protected and signposted to educate others. Ms Sculthorpe said the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre would be willing to continue the fight. "We'll be looking at all our options, that's for sure," she said. Mr Mansell said the groups were willing to take the matter to court again, just as they did after the 2014 election. Mr Duigan said consultation with stakeholders, including Tasmanian Aboriginal people, would continue during the implementation of the strategy.
