Traditional owners, conservationist voice anger over $255 million loan for Perdaman urea project

Aboriginal traditional owners have expressed their anger and shock after a multi-billion dollar project tipped to generate about two million tonnes of urea on the Burrup was granted a $255 million Federal Government loan. The two loans from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will go towards upgrades to common-user infrastructure which will support the proposed $4.3 billion Perdaman urea project within the Burrup Strategic Industrial Area. There are about one million petroglyphs across an area of 37,000ha on the Burrup Peninsula, otherwise known as Murujuga, which represent one of the densest and most diverse collections of 40,000-year-old rock art in the world. The announcement has sparked outrage from Aboriginal traditional owners who fear the pollution from the new plant would accelerate the degradation of the rock surfaces and have raised concerns about the destruction of sacred cultural sites. Ngarluma woman Josie Alec argued the views of traditional owners and elders have been given little to no consideration. “It is outrageous to put a urea facility right on top of the world’s oldest rock art,” she said. “Perdaman wants to move sacred sites to build this and elders have said no — this is absolutely disgusting. “Our rock art, our plants, our animals and our health are at risk because of air pollution on the Burrup, and Perdaman want to make it worse.” Ms Alec said it was money and greed over culture. Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation board member Raelene Cooper said she did not want the project on her country. “The government should not be supporting this multi-billion-dollar company in causing damage to my cultural heritage,” she said. “If Murujuga is deserving of world heritage listing, why would anyone want to put more industry there?” Ngarluma custodian Patrick Churnside said it would be good to openly and transparently hear what decision-makers were discussing and who with. The announcement also sparked anger from Conservation Council WA executive director Maggie Wood who said it was deeply troubling and urged the Federal Government to reconsider the move. “This project is facilitating the destruction of globally significant cultural heritage, obscene levels of pollution and is one of the major pillars propping up Woodside’s highly controversial Scarborough gas project,” she said. “Regardless of your stance, regardless of whether you believe this facility is needed or not, the simple fact is this: there is only one Murujuga — there will never be another and once the rock art is gone, it is gone for good.” Perdaman was granted approval by the Environmental Protection Authority last September subject to a series of conditions including air emissions having no impact on the weathering of rock art within Murujuga beyond natural rates and for Perdaman to provide a revised greenhouse gas management plan.