Threat looms over an ancient rock art site in Australia as the government prolongs the existence of a giant gas facility nearby
The Murujuga area, home to an estimated one million petroglyphs, is unique for its concentration of ancient rock art. This region, also known as the Burrup Peninsula, is the location of the North West Shelf gas plant, a facility that has recently been granted a conditional extension until 2070 by Australia's Environment Minister, Murray Watt.
The extension poses a grave risk to the petroglyphs on the Burrup Peninsula. To mitigate this risk, Minister Watt has imposed strict but undisclosed limits on air emissions and requires rigorous cultural heritage management specifically to protect the Murujuga rock art. These conditions are considered crucial for the protection of these ancient artworks, which include the world's first depictions of human faces and are much older than the oldest rock art in Europe.
The Western Australian government, after more than six years of assessment, has also approved the extension, with conditions based on "the best available science" and technical feasibility related to environmental and heritage impacts. Woodside Energy, the company requesting the extension, is actively working with both the federal and state governments to finalize an approval that meets these conditions.
However, the precise details of these emission limits and heritage management conditions have not been publicly disclosed due to ongoing negotiations and confidentiality. This lack of transparency has caused concern among conservation groups, who worry about the impact on the ancient rock art now granted World Heritage status.
Professor Smith, an archaeology professor, has expressed concern about the potential damage to the Murujuga rock art from the North West Shelf gas plant operations and has vowed to keep up the pressure on the Labor government to ensure strict conditions are implemented.
In a separate incident, activist Joana Veronika Partyka pled guilty to criminally damaging a painting in the Art Museum of Western Australia in Perth as a response to ecological concerns about the North West Shelf gas project on the Murujuga rock art. Partyka had also pled not guilty to failing to adhere to an order to allow access to her data.
The Burrup Peninsula, a remote area on the Western coast of Australia, is a site of immense cultural and historical significance. Its protection is of utmost importance, not just for Australia, but for the world. Minister Watt has given Woodside Energy 10 days to respond to the confidential conditions on air quality and cultural heritage management before making a final decision on the North West Shelf gas plant extension. The conditions, once made public, will be irreversible.
