The request,confirmed by sources,is not legally binding. But together with the federal assessment,it is the first real test of whether the power balance between the mining sector’s pursuit of profit and the protection of ancient culture has changed since Rio Tinto destroyed the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.
The Burrup Peninsula area,known as Murujuga to traditional owners,is the home of more than one million examples of rock art,or petroglyphs,produced over about 50,000 years. It is also the most industrialised area in WA’s north and is home to Rio Tinto’s iron ore port,Woodside’s North West Shelf and Pluto LNG plants,and ammonia and explosive plants run by Norwegian company Yara. Perdaman is also developing a $4.5 billion urea fertiliser plant in the area.
Traditional custodians of the Murujuga area wrote to Ms Ley in February requesting emergency protection of rock art on the site of the Perdaman plant,and longer-term protection of the entire peninsula and the Dampier Archipelago of surrounding islands. Because the petroglyphs were carved into a thin layer,or patina,on the rocks there are long-running concerns that emissions from industry could damage or destroy the ancient art.
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Traditional custodian Raelene Cooper said the rock art was immensely important to the Pilbara’s original inhabitants. “It is a part of us,we are a part of the ngurra (land or country),” she said.
“We don’t own the ngurra,the ngurra owns us. We have an obligation and responsibility to look after our history,our ancient beliefs … this means the world to us.”
Ms Cooper and fellow custodian Josie Alec requested Minister Ley use two rarely exercised emergency powers under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act to prevent the rock art from being disturbed.