Indigenous elders in WA say ‘gag clause’ denies them a say in industrial developments on their land
Traditional custodians of the Burrup Peninsula want the Western Australian state government to remove a “gag clause” that stops them from mounting real opposition to industrial developments on their land.
The Murujuga elders and traditional custodians travelled to Perth from the Pilbara in the far north of Western Australia on Thursday to deliver an open letter to the government outlining the changes.
It was signed by 27 elders and custodians, including both the current and former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.
Their major concern are sections of the Burrup and Maitland Industrial Estates Agreement (BMIEA), created by the WA government in 2003, which stops traditional owners from objecting to developments on their land.
In their letter, the group say their “sacred lands were forcibly acquired”. They call for the government to remove any restrictive clauses and commit to independently funding the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation so it is not reliant on financial support from the fossil fuel industry.
Until a new, fairer process is established to give traditional owners actual influence over the development process, they are also calling for a halt to new applications for industrial development in the area.
Woodside Energy is currently working on a massive expansion of its gas infrastructure in the area as part of the $16.5bn Scarborough gas project, and fertiliser company Perdaman is planning to build a $4.5bn fertiliser plant which will rely on a portion of the gas produced by Woodside.
Raelene Cooper, a Mardudhunera woman and former board member of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said the agreement had been signed 19 years ago by elders who did not understand what they were agreeing to.
“I believe this was deceitful,” Cooper said. “In small writing the government has denied us proper procedural fairness in terms of what happens out on the Burrup with projects and development.
“The government has been acquiring this land over the last 20 years and pushing forward on developments. It only works one way.
“As far as I’m concerned, the agreement is null and void.”
The group attempted to meet with the WA premier, Mark McGowan, and Aboriginal affairs minister, Tony Buti, to discuss scrapping the agreement, but were told both were unavailable due to “prior commitments”.
Instead they expected to meet with other MPs on Thursday and with representatives from Woodside in a separate meeting.A spokesperson for the WA government said in a statement the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation is “consulted extensively” and the state government “encourages project proponents to obtain informed consent from traditional owners”.
“Murujuga is also host to several export industries critical to the Western Australian and national economies, and it is a priority that these co-exist harmoniously with the surrounding cultural heritage,” they said.
“There is nothing in the BMIEA agreement preventing MAC, contracting parties, or individual members of those groups from providing submissions under any legislation to protect the cultural and heritage values of Murujuga.”
The open letter also called for Woodside shareholders to withhold further investment as the company does not have the “free, prior, and informed consent of Murujuga Traditional Owners” to proceed with its plans for the Scarborough gas field.
A Woodside spokesperson said the company “has engaged and consulted extensively” with traditional owners in accordance with its policies and through its own investigations the company has found its developments “will not impact any rock art”.
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A spokesperson for Perdaman said the company has “followed all legal and regulatory approval processes for the last four years”.
“The Burrup and Maitland Industrial Estates Agreements (BMIEA) is an agreement between the WA Government and three previously registered native title claim groups. Amendment of the BMIEA is a matter for the parties to that agreement,” they said in a statement.
The Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara – known as Murujuga to traditional custodians – is an outdoor gallery home to over a million examples of Indigenous rock art produced over a period of 50,000 years.
The area was nominated for a world heritage listing in 2018. If successful, this would mean the area is protected in the same way as the pyramids of
Giza, Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal.
It is also the site of significant industrial development, with fossil fuel companies such as Woodside operating plants for processing gas, and two companies operating fertiliser plants in the area.
Traditional custodians have previously raised concerns that the cumulative pollution from these operations is slowly acidifying the rocks, which erodes the art.