Spectacular rock art could be at stake as governments and industry join forces to get a massive urea plant up and running, Traditional Owners say.
The federal government this week committed $255 million for port and water infrastructure to support a $4.3 billion urea plant project operated by Perth-based Perdaman.
The project could help end Australia's dependence on imported fertiliser, which has become more critical since China placed export curbs on urea, a major fertiliser ingredient, and sparked a global price rise that has eaten into farmers' budgets.
But Traditional Owners on the Burrup Peninsula - known as Murujuga - say the area is already facing significant destruction of the 40,000 year-old rock art through pollution, acid gas and acid rain from existing heavy industry.
"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," Kuruma Marduthunera custodian Josie Alec said on Friday.
The plant, located 20 km northwest of Karratha, will convert gas into approximately two million tonnes of urea per year - equivalent to the total annual demand for urea across Australia.
The project has state and federal government goodwill as a new multi-billion dollar industry that can do more than simply export raw commodities.
"The Perdaman Urea Plant is considered transformational for Western Australia, having been awarded Major Project Status by both the Australian and Western Australian governments," federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said.
The infrastructure facility is made up of two separate federal loans.
Some $160 million will go to the Pilbara Ports Authority for a new multi-user wharf and facilities at the Port of Dampier to support exports.
The Western Australia Water Corporation will get $95 million for the expansion of the Burrup seawater supply and brine disposal scheme that will also service the operation of the Perdaman Urea Plant.
Agricultural group WAFarmers supports the urea project and government investment.
"WAFarmers has long pushed for increased investment into local infrastructure and manufacturing that supports the continued growth of Western Australia's agricultural industry," WAFarmers grain council president Mic Fels said.
"This announcement gives the industry and growers some surety of future fertiliser supply which, given the continual rise of farm input costs, is reassuring."
But Traditional Owners fear pollution from the new government-backed plant will greatly accelerate the degradation of the rock surface, ultimately destroying the rock art for good.
Conservationist Maggie Wood said there had been much talk of "lessons learned" after Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters of exceptional significance at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara in 2020.
"Pollution from heavy industry on the Burrup is actively degrading globally significant Aboriginal heritage. That is an irrefutable fact and this proposal will only make the situation worse," she said.
The Perdaman plant, when completed, would use gas from the nearby Scarborough gas field and a 20-year supply deal has been struck with fertiliser giant Incitec Pivot.
Australia's first world-scale urea plant, converting local gas into urea, is scheduled to start production in 2025.
Murujuga is widely regarded as being the origin of many "songlines" which span the continent.
The many thousands of individual petroglyphs have been described as "the world's oldest and largest art gallery" and are shortlisted for UNESCO world heritage protection.
Custodians say they include: abstract static figures; standing, running, and squatting figures, some with sinuous arms and legs; unusual depictions of profile figures climbing; and visually stunning archaic faces.
Perdaman has been contacted for comment.
