A leading statistician on an emissions study into an ancient West Australian rock art site has spoken out to support the 800-page report, days after blasting WA bureaucrats for “unacceptable interference” by altering a graph in a separate summary.
The report on monitoring of industrial emissions near the site on the Burrup Peninsula in the state’s north-west was released last Friday, and lauded by industry and the Cook government as proof that modern industrial emissions were not currently impacting the ancient petroglyph images carved into the site’s striking rock landforms.
Curtin University Professor and Murujuga rock art emissions study statistician Adrian Baddeley.Credit: Curtin University
That conclusion was rubbished by world-renowned rock art expert Ben Smith, who said the 800-page report showed the opposite.
The Murujuga rock art monitoring program is a $27 million joint effort between Curtin University scientists, Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
Its release came days before Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt approved a 40-year extension to the life of Woodside’s North West Shelf assets – among which are a gas plant releasing some of the emissions being monitored.
The report was published alongside an eight-page summary featuring graphs showing benchmark levels for acceptable pollution on the Burrup.
The ABC reported Curtin University Emeritus Professor Adrian Baddeley, who was the report’s chief statistician, complained in an email to DWER on Tuesday that one of those graphs had been altered on the summary.
The alteration removed a line showed in the main report, showing an early warning threshold of pollution on the Burrup.
Baddeley, who told a pro-Palestine rally at Curtin last May universities had become “more corporate, much more authoritarian, much more coercive” wrote to the government department:
“In early April, in preparation for these publications, DWER requested that Curtin provide a version of the figure with the green dashed line removed.
“I formally declined this request as chief statistician, with reasons given, in a message relayed to DWER by the statistical team.
“It appears that, sometime after this correspondence, in my absence, Curtin staff were prevailed upon to delete the green line, in direct contravention of my decision.
“In my opinion, this constitutes unacceptable interference in the scientific integrity of the project.”
The WA Greens seized on the graph and Baddeley’s concerns as proof the government was trying to spin the findings of the monitoring report as positive for industry.
On Friday, three days after his email, Baddeley released a statement via Curtin University saying he respected the actions taken in preparing the summary document, which was approved by the lead academic in the rock art monitoring study.
“The short, simplified summary of the report was prepared following a standard process that involved multiple discussions between Curtin, DWER and MAC, before being signed off by the academic lead and I respect the actions taken,” he said.
Baddeley acknowledged the concerns about academic freedoms in relation to the report but said it had not been altered in any way and he praised the science behind it.
“I want to be clear that the findings of the full scientific report and the high-quality science behind it have not been altered in any way. The full report is complete and unchanged,” he said.
“It reflects years of rigorous work by a dedicated and highly credentialed team.”
He said all research and data underwent rigorous development and quality assurances, and the final report was subject to external peer review.
“Academic freedom is vital and I continue to value open, evidence-based questioning and discussion,” he said.
“I hope the focus remains on the substance of the report, where the science and analysis speak for themselves.”
The lead academic on the report was approached for comment.
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