Murujuga traditional custodians have welcomed the decision to appoint a Reporter to conduct a full cultural heritage assessment of all industry on the Burrup Peninsula, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, under Section 10 of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHPA).
The Save our Songlines campaign, led by Murujuga traditional custodians to protect sacred rock art sites from industry, was informed earlier this month that their Section 10 application, first launched in February this year and renewed in June after the federal election, has been successful. The Section 10 ‘Reporter’ will now commence a full cultural heritage assessment of industrial impacts from the ‘Burrup Hub’ on sacred Murujuga rock art and report to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.
Unlike the Minister’s decision last month to decline an ATSIHPA Section 9 application, which would have allowed emergency protection for up to 60 days to prevent the Perdaman fertiliser plant removing sacred Murujuga rock art sites, the Section 10 application encompasses all industry on the Burrup and empowers the Minister to order permanent protections via legislation.
However, the Minister’s refusal to grant temporary protection under Section 9 means that Perdaman and Woodside are enabled to commence work that may damage or desecrate Murujuga sacred sites while the Section 10 cultural heritage assessment is still ongoing.
Construction has commenced this month on Woodside’s Pluto/Scarborough project and the adjoining Perdaman fertiliser plant (fed by Scarborough gas) which are key developments in the expanding Burrup Hub LNG project. In July, the WA EPA approved the extension until 2070 of Woodside’s interconnected North West Shelf / Karratha Gas Plant, including the Browse Basin gas fields, another major component in the Burrup Hub (overview map attached).
Murujuga traditional custodians from ‘Save our Songlines’ have voiced the primary opposition to the expansion of polluting fossil fuel industry on Murujuga, appearing at the United Nations in Geneva in July and organising the largest ever protest march on the Burrup earlier this year to assert their enduring sovereignty over their ngurra, or Country, and its sacred, UNESCO world heritage-nominated cultural heritage.
Raelene Cooper, Mardudhunera woman, former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and ATSIHPA Section 10 Applicant, said:
“We welcome the announcement of the belated appointment of a Section 10 reporter to conduct a full cultural heritage assessment of all industry on the Burrup Hub. However, the refusal to grant our section 9 application still allows for damage and desecration of our sacred Murujuga rock art while this assessment is underway. This is a dangerous and contradictory position from the government that makes no sense and reveals the hypocrisy at the heart of all consultation between traditional custodians and industry on the Burrup. The community will be outraged if this failure from the government to ensure cultural safety allows for another Juukan Gorge while the Section 10 assessment is still ongoing. The whole community needs to band together to protect Murujuga because this is about our human rights and basic equality under the law and our lore.”
“Let’s not kid ourselves, the Australian Government is not doing us a favour – this Section 10 decision is the basic job of government and only came because we keep holding them accountable. This government benefited from the votes of many First Nations people who elected them on the basis of their commitment to the Uluru Statement, but too often Indigenous voices are still ignored by government if it’s inconvenient for industry. We are still being ignored about the removal of Ancient Culture and the impacts on our Environment and water. Actions speak louder than words, and action needs to happen now or there is simply going to be nothing left to save.
This is an unprecedented opportunity to consider all the impacts of every industry on the Burrup on our sacred rock art sites and provide permanent protections in federal laws. Save our Songlines have been campaigning for this decision all year and we are pleased that the government is starting to listen to our campaign. This news is a big win for Indigenous voices and grassroots community standing up and speaking out for our country and our sovereignty.”
