Save our Songlines protest at The Quarter in Karratha raises concerns about Scarborough’s impact on Murujuga

Desecrating our rock art is desecrating our hearts. That was the message Josie Alec wanted the almost 50 attendees of a rally at The Quarter on Saturday protesting the development of the $16 billion Scarborough gas project to take away. The community rally was organised by Save our Songlines and heard from traditional owners Colin and Patrick Churnside, Ms Alec and Raelene Cooper. Ngarluma woman Ms Alec said the project risked desecrating “everybody’s heart”. “What we’re talking about here is songlines and our connections,” she said. “The songline is the cultural connection that we have as Ngarluma people to those rocks. “This is a fight that I’m ready for and to take on because it’s what my old people left for me.” Ex-Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chair Ms Cooper said protesters were fighting for procedural fairness. “That place out there means too much to us,” she said. “We carry songlines, we carry traditions and we carry it with love. “That’s what we want you mob to understand.”