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West Australian
27-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
‘Lies:' A UWA professor accuses the WA Government of lying about the impact of industrial emissions on Aboriginal rock art
The Western Australian government has been accused of lying in the summary of a report about the impact of industrial pollution on Aboriginal rock art in the Pilbara to support an extension to Woodside's North West Shelf gas plant. UWA professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith said he had blown the whistle on the summary of an 800 page report released by the WA government late last week examining the impact of industrial emissions on Murujuga rock art. The Cook government has denied the allegation. The report was produced by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and scientists from Curtin University, which the professor claims were gagged from commenting on its findings. Professor Smith has studied the impact of pollutants on rock art for the past six years and claims the WA government covered up evidence that industrial pollutants have degraded rock art and misrepresented findings in the report. 'This report contains very serious evidence that industrial emissions are currently damaging the rock art of Murujuga,' he said. Professor Smith said experiments showed rocks at Murujuga were damaged by industrial pollutants at accelerating elevated porosity, which meant they looked liked Swiss cheese under a microscope, rather than hard, even surfaces. He said the government tried to blame elevated porosity on a Dampier power plant that operated in the 1970s and 1980s that produced 4000 tonnes of pollution, but current emissions from industry were now five times higher. 'That means current emissions are five times more serious, we have five times the level of destruction of Murujuga rock art than we had in the 1970s and 80s, according to the Murujuga rock art report,' he said. A state government spokesman denied the allegations saying the claims were offensive and factually incorrect. The premier told media at a press conference the science has said that modern industrial developments do not have a long-term impact in terms of the quality of the rock art. 'There was one incident back in the 1970s associated with an old generation power plant, that is what people have pointed to as being the most damaging period during the age of the rock art.' Professor Smith tore up a copy of the summary at a press conference telling media the document was a disgrace and not worth the paper it was written on. 'The minister cannot make a decision on the expansion of the North West Shelf on the basis of this propaganda document,' he said. Woodside has operated the facility for 40 years and have environmental approval to operate the gas plant until 2030, but need government approval to extend operations beyond next decade. The WA government approved Woodside's expansion in December, but the project needs environmental approval from the federal government before it can continue past 2030. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision by the end of the month on whether to grant Woodside an extension to continue operating the North West Shelf gas plant until 2070. The North West Shelf is one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, environmentalists argue it is one of the biggest polluters of greenhouse gas emissions in the Southern Hemisphere. WA Greens spokesman Sophie McNeil called on Minister Watt to delay making a decision on the North West Shelf extension in the wake of these 'shocking revelations.' 'There is a clear discrepancy between the findings of the 800 page report and of the summary, which we know was written by department officials,' she said. 'We have serious concerns about the ability of the minister to make this decision in this short period of time, because that report is incredibly technical reading.' Mr Watt declined to comment.
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Professor accuses government of lying
The Western Australian government has been accused of lying in the summary of a report about the impact of industrial pollution on Aboriginal rock art in the Pilbara to support an extension to Woodside's North West Shelf gas plant. UWA professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith said he had blown the whistle on the summary of an 800 page report released by the WA government late last week examining the impact of industrial emissions on Murujuga rock art. The Cook government has denied the allegation. The report was produced by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and scientists from Curtin University, which the professor claims were gagged from commenting on its findings. Professor Smith has studied the impact of pollutants on rock art for the past six years and claims the WA government covered up evidence that industrial pollutants have degraded rock art and misrepresented findings in the report. 'This report contains very serious evidence that industrial emissions are currently damaging the rock art of Murujuga,' he said. Aboriginal rock art of an emu pictured at Murujuga where Woodside want to extend its North West Shelf gas plant for another 40 years. Save Our Songlines Credit: Supplied Professor Smith said experiments showed rocks at Murujuga were damaged by industrial pollutants at accelerating elevated porosity, which meant they looked liked Swiss cheese under a microscope, rather than hard, even surfaces. He said the government tried to blame elevated porosity on a Dampier power plant that operated in the 1970s and 1980s that produced 4000 tonnes of pollution, but current emissions from industry were now five times higher. 'That means current emissions are five times more serious, we have five times the level of destruction of Murujuga rock art than we had in the 1970s and 80s, according to the Murujuga rock art report,' he said. A state government spokesman denied the allegations saying the claims were offensive and factually incorrect. The premier told media at a press conference the science has said that modern industrial developments do not have a long-term impact in terms of the quality of the rock art. 'There was one incident back in the 1970s associated with an old generation power plant, that is what people have pointed to as being the most damaging period during the age of the rock art.' A turtle carved into rocks at Murujuga where Woodside operate the North West Shelf gas facility. Save Our Songlines Credit: Supplied Professor Smith tore up a copy of the summary at a press conference telling media the document was a disgrace and not worth the paper it was written on. 'The minister cannot make a decision on the expansion of the North West Shelf on the basis of this propaganda document,' he said. Woodside has operated the facility for 40 years and have environmental approval to operate the gas plant until 2030, but need government approval to extend operations beyond next decade. The WA government approved Woodside's expansion in December, but the project needs environmental approval from the federal government before it can continue past 2030. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision by the end of the month on whether to grant Woodside an extension to continue operating the North West Shelf gas plant until 2070. Woodside's North West Shelf gas plant. Save Our Songlines Credit: Supplied The North West Shelf is one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, environmentalists argue it is one of the biggest polluters of greenhouse gas emissions in the Southern Hemisphere. WA Greens spokesman Sophie McNeil called on Minister Watt to delay making a decision on the North West Shelf extension in the wake of these 'shocking revelations.' 'There is a clear discrepancy between the findings of the 800 page report and of the summary, which we know was written by department officials,' she said. 'We have serious concerns about the ability of the minister to make this decision in this short period of time, because that report is incredibly technical reading.' Mr Watt declined to comment.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Lies:' A UWA professor accuses the WA Government of lying about the impact of industrial emissions on Aboriginal rock art
The Western Australian government has been accused of lying in the summary of a report about the impact of industrial pollution on Aboriginal rock art in the Pilbara to support an extension to Woodside's North West Shelf gas plant. UWA professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith said he had blown the whistle on the summary of an 800 page report released by the WA government late last week examining the impact of industrial emissions on Murujuga rock art. The Cook government has denied the allegation. The report was produced by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and scientists from Curtin University, which the professor claims were gagged from commenting on its findings. Professor Smith has studied the impact of pollutants on rock art for the past six years and claims the WA government covered up evidence that industrial pollutants have degraded rock art and misrepresented findings in the report. 'This report contains very serious evidence that industrial emissions are currently damaging the rock art of Murujuga,' he said. Professor Smith said experiments showed rocks at Murujuga were damaged by industrial pollutants at accelerating elevated porosity, which meant they looked liked Swiss cheese under a microscope, rather than hard, even surfaces. He said the government tried to blame elevated porosity on a Dampier power plant that operated in the 1970s and 1980s that produced 4000 tonnes of pollution, but current emissions from industry were now five times higher. 'That means current emissions are five times more serious, we have five times the level of destruction of Murujuga rock art than we had in the 1970s and 80s, according to the Murujuga rock art report,' he said. A state government spokesman denied the allegations saying the claims were offensive and factually incorrect. The premier told media at a press conference the science has said that modern industrial developments do not have a long-term impact in terms of the quality of the rock art. 'There was one incident back in the 1970s associated with an old generation power plant, that is what people have pointed to as being the most damaging period during the age of the rock art.' Professor Smith tore up a copy of the summary at a press conference telling media the document was a disgrace and not worth the paper it was written on. 'The minister cannot make a decision on the expansion of the North West Shelf on the basis of this propaganda document,' he said. Woodside has operated the facility for 40 years and have environmental approval to operate the gas plant until 2030, but need government approval to extend operations beyond next decade. The WA government approved Woodside's expansion in December, but the project needs environmental approval from the federal government before it can continue past 2030. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision by the end of the month on whether to grant Woodside an extension to continue operating the North West Shelf gas plant until 2070. The North West Shelf is one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, environmentalists argue it is one of the biggest polluters of greenhouse gas emissions in the Southern Hemisphere. WA Greens spokesman Sophie McNeil called on Minister Watt to delay making a decision on the North West Shelf extension in the wake of these 'shocking revelations.' 'There is a clear discrepancy between the findings of the 800 page report and of the summary, which we know was written by department officials,' she said. 'We have serious concerns about the ability of the minister to make this decision in this short period of time, because that report is incredibly technical reading.'
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Rock art expert says WA government doctored elements of Murujuga rock art report
One of the world's leading rock art specialists has accused the WA government of producing "propaganda" to support its view that Woodside's controversial North West Shelf gas project should be allowed to extend, labelling government-produced documents a "disgrace to Australian science". On Friday the WA government released a report into one of the world's most significant and dense collections of ancient petroglyphs, on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) near Karratha, which are thought to be thousands of years old. University of Western Australia professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith said the 800-page report found rock art closest to industry had been most degraded and recent industry was to blame — details he said the executive summary, which he claims was produced by the government — failed to mention. Instead, Professor Smith said the summary claimed degradation to the world-renowned art had been caused by industrial emissions from the 1970s, distancing the damage from Woodside's recent activities in the area. Despite having had the report since June last year, the government only released it on Friday, days before federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to make a decision on whether to grant an extension of Woodside's North West Shelf Karratha Gas Plant to 2070. "The minister cannot make a decision on the expansion of the North West Shelf on the basis of this propaganda document," Professor Smith told reporters on the steps of parliament on Tuesday. "This document is not worth the paper it is written on, it's a disgrace," he said. "A disgrace to Australian science, and my colleagues at Curtin University, who I'm sure are as angry as I am." Professor Smith said the government had tried to hide key findings of the report. "This report contains very serious evidence that industrial emissions are currently damaging the rock art of Murujuga," he said on the steps of parliament. Professor Smith said the report found key pollutants had damaged the rock art, even when they were present in the atmosphere at low levels. He said when rock from Murujuga was subjected to pollutants, it appeared to resemble Swiss cheese — meaning it was full of holes. But WA Premier Roger Cook continues to deny the rock art has been harmed by recent industrial activity in the area. "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 on Tuesday. "There was one incidence back in the 1970s associated with an old generation power plant, that is what people have pointed to as being the most damaging period during the age of the rock art." Professor Smith said this was an attempt by the government to shift the blame from the present to the past, when the Dampier Power Plant, in operation in the 1970s and 80s, produced about 4,000 tonnes per year of key pollutants nitrogen and sulfur oxide. "Current emissions from industry at Murujuga, the total of those pollutants is 20,000 tonnes ... so five times higher now than it was in the 70s and 80s," he said. He said a rock sample from 1994 showed none of the Swiss-cheese like damage was evident now and could be considered a "smoking gun". Curtin University scientists worked on the report, and Professor Smith said they had been told not to talk about it. "The curtain scientists are under sort of lockdown, they're not allowed to speak to people," he said. "But of course, academics, you know we believe in transparency." Professor Smith said strict conditions should apply if Minister Watt decided to approve the North West Shelf project extension. "There are conditions that could be set that would allow those plants to operate with close to zero [emissions of the key pollutants]. "This decision is perhaps the most important environmental decision of our lifetime. "What will be approved here is the biggest carbon bomb in the southern hemisphere and the extension of a plant that is actively damaging the most important rock art site in the southern hemisphere if not the world."
Local France
30-04-2025
- Business
- Local France
Air France-KLM reduces losses in first quarter
The Franco-Dutch aviation group said its turnover had risen eight percent over the first quarter in 2024 to €7.2 billion. It said losses had been cut through sustained demand for travel and lower fuel prices. The group said it had 21.8 million passengers between January and March, up 4.5 percent from the first quarter last year. Chief executive Benjamin Smith said ticket sales for summer travel had helped boost the carrier's finances. The group said that for the May-June period, reservations for trips from Europe to the United States had fallen 2.4 percent over last year, while sales of tickets from US cities to Europe had increased 2.1 percent. Advertisement Fuel costs for 2025 are estimated to be €6.7 billion, down from €7.3 billion in 2024, the group said. Air France-KLM suffered in 2024 from a shortage of planes, the strong dollar and people avoiding Paris during the Olympic Games. This limited annual net profit to €317 million.
