Tanya Plibersek approves $4.5bn Burrup urea plant in WA

The decision will result in ancient pieces of rock art and sacred sites in WA being relocated against the wishes of some traditional owners.

Several ancient pieces of rock art and sacred sites in Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula will be relocated against the wishes of some traditional owners after environment minister Tanya Plibersek opted against extending a construction stay at a $4.5 billion urea plant.

Ms Plibersek said on Tuesday morning that she had opted not to grant the Section 9 application lodged by Indigenous-led group Save Our Songlines against the urea plant proposed by private company Perdaman.

The minister, who quietly visited the Burrup last week as part of her decision-making process, said she was comfortable that a number of rock carvings within the urea plant’s proposed footprint could be moved and others protected under the development plan.

Last month, Ms Plibersek requested Perdaman stop work at the site while she considered the application from Save Our Songlines.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

But she said on Tuesday she had opted to side with Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, the longstanding Indigenous organisation that Save Our Songlines said had been “co-opted” by major companies working in the region, and clear the project to continue.

“I ultimately went with the views of the Aboriginal organisation that represents the five traditional owner groups in the area, that has been legally constituted and democratically elected, and has existed for some time [and] has been in consultation with Perdaman, which is the company in question, since 2018,” Ms Plibersek told Radio National.

“It‘s no surprise that in any group, you’ll sometimes have divergent views. In this case, I’ve gone with the views of the group that has been set up for some years now today, so they’re the legal and cultural authority to the area representing the five traditional owner groups.”

The minister’s decision was slammed by Save Our Songlines, with spokeswomen Raelene Cooper and Josie Alec saying it was based on “faulty reasoning and false conclusions”.

Ms Cooper, a former chairwoman of Murujuga Aboriginal Corp, said traditional custodians and the wider community were outraged and disappointed by the decision.

“The minister suggests the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation is legally constituted to speak for traditional custodians but its own members and elders say they are gagged and cannot oppose or object to projects,” she said.

“The Minister wrongly suggests that the Murujuga circle of elders unanimously approved the Perdaman project but elders repeatedly expressed opposition to relocating rock art.”

The Burrup is home to the biggest collection of ancient petroglyphs anywhere in the world, with an estimated 1 to 2 million pieces of rock art spread across the area. The Burrup is also earmarked for a UNESCO World Heritage listing, although activist groups have warned that the listing may not be granted if industry on the Burrup continues to grow.

The region had shaped as the biggest test of the Albanese government’s commitments on curbing emissions and increasing the protection of Aboriginal heritage. The region is home to both the North West Shelf and Pluto LNG plants, which are respectively subject to extension and expansion plans, as well as the Yara fertiliser plant next to the Perdaman site.

The LNG plants are some of Australia’s largest industrial projects but are also significant emitters, while some studies suggest that the industrial emissions in the area may be exacerbating the degradation of the rock art.

Significant amounts of Burrup rock art were relocated or destroyed when the first wave of industrial development began in the region decades ago.