Western Australian government accused of being ‘deceitful’ for considering industrial development on site

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Any plans to increase industrial development on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula could damage the rock art and undermine efforts to secure world heritage listing, advocates have said.

The Burrup peninsula, or Murujuga, near Karratha in the north-west of the state, is home to a collection of more than 500,000 petroglyphs, making it the densest concentration of rock carvings in the world.

The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has confirmed the government is considering possible new developments on the Burrup peninsula, saying that promoting industry and protecting the heritage values of the area can progress hand in hand.

• Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

The projects, which remain commercial in confidence, were detailed in a confidential briefing note prepared for McGowan for a recent trip to Karratha and obtained by the ABC.

They would be built alongside existing industrial developments on the peninsula including the recently expanded Yara Pilbara fertilisers ammonia plant, and the Northwest Shelf Karratha gas plant. At least one has already received preliminary approval from McGowan.

Indigenous owners 'left out' of rock art site's world heritage listing talks Read more

The confidential briefing note, seen by Guardian Australia, suggests that the application for world heritage listing may be delayed to allow the new projects to get the necessary approvals.

“A world heritage listing may have tourism benefits but could deter new industrial investment without careful management,” it says.

It says the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation encourages a “staged approach to tourism on the Burrup”.

“There may be a reluctance for new industries to locate on the Burrup peninsula should world heritage listing go ahead before companies have obtained key project approvals,” it says. “To achieve a balance between industrial development and tourism associated with a world heritage listing, the timing of the world heritage listing, and associated deliberations, will be critical.”

The briefing note comes a month after the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation asked the McGowan government for assistance pursuing an application for world heritage listing for the area.

The WA Greens MP Robin Chapple said it was “deceitful” to plan future industrial developments while also talking to the five relevant traditional owner groups about world heritage listing.

“This is a deceitful government, who have led traditional owners on while simultaneously working with big business to trash any chance of achieving world heritage for this site,” Chapple said.

“We have multiple reports showing that industry on the Burrup is degrading the rock art, so why on earth is the government seeking two new industrial projects for this sensitive area when the Maitland estate down the road is perfectly suitable?”

A recent Senate report found that traditional owners felt they had been left out of previous discussions around the management of Murujuga.

Labor senators on the committee warned against future industrial development at the site, saying there was “significant” evidence of discolouration caused by pollution from the Yara Pilbara fertilisers plant. Liberal senators disagreed, providing a split finding.

World's largest collection of rock art at risk, Australian senators told Read more

McGowan told the ABC that he does support the push for world heritage listing and believed it could coexist with further industrial development.

“There are some vacant blocks there … that don’t impinge on rock art or anything of that nature, so we are working on some projects that will create jobs for local people in particular,” he told the ABC. “At the same time we do think that the vast majority of the peninsula should be heritage listed. Those two things go together.”

Judith Hugo from the lobby group Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) said the decision to consider further industrial development was “outrageous” and should be overturned.

“Surely Australia’s oldest 45,000-year-old heritage site is worth more than a few industries with a 20-year lifespan, exposing workers and the local communities to the negative health impacts of chemical emissions?” Hugo said.

Prof John Black, a technical adviser with FARA, said that it was possible new development could impinge on the lengthy process for achieving world heritage status.