Murray Watt advised by own department to declare protection order over ‘significant Aboriginal area’ in WA

Raelene Cooper at Hearson Cove in Karratha, Western Australia. She is seeking to protect cultural heritage in the Burrup peninsula. Photograph: JALARU/The Guardian

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has been advised by his department to declare a protection order over part of the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia due to its significance as an Aboriginal site, a government affidavit filed in the federal court shows.

A Murujuga traditional custodian, Raelene Cooper, applied in 2022 to protect the area’s cultural heritage from nearby industrial activities, including Woodside’s planned extension of its North West Shelf processing plant.