Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) are challenging the Western Australian government’s environmental approval to extend the life of Woodside Energy’s massive North West Shelf venture, including the Karratha gas plant.

But the body that recommends whether sites are included on the World Heritage List, ICOMOS, disagrees, as do Traditional Custodians and a host of scientists.

French connection

“I am travelling to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Paris to ensure that UNESCO are aware of the threats posed by Woodside, even if Anthony Albanese and Murray Watt would rather they weren’t.”

MAC said the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP), a partnership between MAC, the WA Government and Curtin University, is the most comprehensive study of its kind, which has delivered two years of peer-reviewed data and is developing Environmental Quality Criteria to guide air quality protections for the rock art.

“Some campaigns have unintentionally complicated the process by redirecting focus away from the cultural significance of the Murujuga landscape itself and failing to consider the rigorous science underpinning our stewardship,” he said.

“The MRAMP … confirms that industry and cultural heritage can coexist when properly managed,” the MAC statement said.

“We’re not asking for much, we’re asking that you leave our sacred places alone, our significant sites – this is where our law comes from.”

The unique collection of rock art at Murujuga contains petroglyphs carved into the surface of the rocks, including the earliest depiction of a human face and extinct animals.

World’s oldest art gallery

Senator Watt’s office did not respond to NITV’s questions.