Australian Indigenous Group Steps Up Campaign to Protect Sacred Rock Art

SYDNEY (Reuters) - On Thursday 2 March 2023, an Australian Indigenous group stepped up its campaign against industrial development in Western Australia's Burrup Peninsula, a key gas export hub, saying in a protest in Sydney that planned projects would damage ancient rock art.

A government-appointed investigator has been assessing the impact of development in the Burrup Peninsula since last year in response to a request from two indigenous women representing a group called Save our Songlines. The protest in Australia's largest city, about 5,000 km from the peninsula, brought the issue to the doorstep of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

"It is up to us to keep our culture and our history alive," said Indigenous woman Raelene Cooper of Save our Songlines, who applied for the review under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

Protecting heritage sites has been a contentious issue since the destruction of 46,000-year-old sacred rock shelters by Rio Tinto in 2020 that cost the jobs of the mining giant's then-chief executive and three other senior leaders.

The Burrup Peninsula already houses several industrial plants amid more than a million rock carvings, some more than 40,000 years old, which have been nominated for a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

There are two liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants run by Woodside Energy Group and fertiliser and explosives plants run by Norway's Yara International in the industrial zone.

"We take the necessary steps to manage our impacts, including in response to credible new information," a Woodside spokesperson said, adding that research to date on the impact of emissions on rock art has not been conclusive.

A spokesperson for Yara Pilbara, the Australian unit of Yara International, said that as a company, "we acknowledge and respect the cultural significance of Murujuga" and that Yara is working with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation to preserve cultural heritage.

Last month, Australia formally nominated the Murujuga Indigenous cultural landscape for a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Woodside, Yara and Perdaman, which plans to build a urea plant on the peninsula, all said they supported the World Heritage listing and were working with the traditional custodians to protect their heritage.

The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, the traditional owners' representative, led the preparation of the World Heritage nomination.

Save our Songlines has disagreed with the group over the industrial development and has raised doubts that a World Heritage listing would protect the ancient landscape from industrial damage.