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A World Heritage listing bid for the Murujuga Aboriginal rock art gallery on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has been dealt a heavy blow, with UNESCO poised to defer a long-awaited decision over concerns about the impact of industrial emissions on the area.
The bid, supported by the WA and Commonwealth governments, was lodged in 2020 and a decision was pencilled in for UNESCO’s upcoming July meeting.
More than a million petroglyphs are scattered around Murujuga National Park, which overlooks Woodside’s Karratha gas plant operations.Credit: Getty Images
In a draft decision published on its website this week, UNESCO’s World Heritage committee recommended the application be sent back to the Australian government to address concerns about the impact of industrialisation and emissions on the 1 million petroglyphs that make up the gallery.
The committee called on the Commonwealth to “ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions, currently impacting upon the petroglyphs of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape”, and “prevent any further industrial development”.
The UNESCO draft decision comes at a pivotal moment for Murujuga and the Burrup Hub.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is due to decide this week on Woodside’s application to extend its North West Shelf operations – which sits fewer than 10 kilometres from Murujuga – for another 45 years.
Watt’s office was approached for comment.
It also comes the day after world-renowned rock art scientist Ben Smith claimed the WeA government lied in the executive summary of an 800-page report, released late on Friday, that suggested current emissions were not impacting the rock art.
Australian Conservation Foundation’s climate campaigner Piper Rollins said UNESCO was essentially saying to the Albanese government: “You can’t have your cake and eat it.”
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