Pilbara traditional owner’s rock art damage complaint goes to UN rights council

The federal government is allowing ongoing industrial damage to world-heritage-listed rock art near a major petrochemical plant, a traditional custodian is set to tell the UN Human Rights Council.

Woodside’s plant at Murujuga on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has received government approval for the North West Shelf gas hub extension until 2070.

The energy giant has vowed to vigorously fight Federal Court challenges against Environment Minister Murray Watt’s decision in 2025 to grant the extension, with conditions.

The court challenges are driven by concerns the North West Shelf facility will heavily contribute to adverse climate change impacts and harm the 40,000-year-old rock art near the plant.

Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper is travelling to Geneva to address the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, detailing her complaint to the council about feared damage to the rock art.

Her lawyers, Johnson Legal, wrote to UNESCO in June, noting she welcomed the World Heritage listing but remained concerned about the impacts of development and lack of legislative protection for the site.

“I am travelling from Murujuga with my family and lawyers to tell the United Nations about the destruction of our country,” Ms Cooper said in a statement on Monday.

“Now I am going to hold the Australian government internationally accountable for its failure to protect Murujuga.

“The rock art of Murujuga has survived for tens of thousands of years ... I will let the world know that we won’t allow the government to let it be erased in our lifetime.”

In a statement on Monday, a Woodside spokesperson said the company took its commitments to protect cultural heritage at Murujuga seriously.

Over many years, the company has taken proactive steps, including emissions reductions, data sharing and ongoing support for the rock art monitoring program, to ensure it responsibly managed its impacts.

“The coexistence of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and responsible industrial activity is not just possible but something Woodside has demonstrated for many years,” the statement read.

The latest monitoring report found no evidence of accelerated deterioration of rock surfaces under current air quality levels, the spokesperson said.

The Australian Conservation Foundation has initiated Federal Court proceedings in Melbourne to challenge Senator Watt’s extension approval.

Friends of Australian Rock Art has also begun a Federal Court challenge against the minister’s decision.

The Murujuga rock art site contains some of the world’s oldest and most extensive rock art including the earliest recorded depiction of the human face.

The risks posed by neighbouring industrial activity to the ancient Indigenous petroglyphs have been a source of debate