Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt says the science is clear that "industry can co-exist with rock art" on the Burrup Peninsula, amid concerns about industrial impacts on Western Australia's Murujuga Cultural Landscape.
On Friday, UNESCO voted to inscribe the Murujuga Cultural Landscape — home to the world's largest collection of ancient rock art — on the World Heritage List.
The site spans nearly 100,000 hectares and includes thousands of petroglyphs depicting animals, plants (some now extinct), and humans — including some of the earliest known anthropomorphic figures on Earth.
The landscape is now cared for by Ngarda-Ngarli Traditional Owners, though it was originally the land of the Yaburara people, who were massacred by colonists in 1868.
Speaking on ABC RN Breakfast on Monday, Murray Watt said the new World Heritage status will not affect the federal government's pending decision on the extension of Woodside's gas project.
"No, it won't apply to any decisions that are currently underway or that have happened previously," he said.
"It won't apply to any decisions that are currently under way or that have happened previously."
The UNESCO listing comes amid ongoing debate about whether industrial emissions from nearby facilities, including Woodside's gas operations, are damaging the rock art.
Researchers from the University of Bonn have raised alarms over the impact of acidic emissions on rock art. However, the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) — governed by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) — has reported no conclusive link between current industrial activity and visible damage to the petroglyphs.
The nomination for World Heritage status was led by MAC and supported by both the Australian and Western Australian governments.
Speaking at the UNESCO meeting in Paris, MAC vice chairperson Belinda Churnside said: "We have come together, from far away, from the Murujuga lands. This has been a long-awaited journey for our Old People."
"We are thankful to receive this recognition on a global scale. Thank you everyone."
Mr Watt noted on Monday any future developments would need to follow new heritage protection protocols.
"The important thing is that any future industrial development in the area would need to comply with the rules surrounding world heritage nominations," he said.
Calling the UNESCO decision a "really special moment", the Minister added: "I said that we would be applying strict conditions and preservation of the rock art was central to my decision when I made that a few weeks ago."
"But I guess this is also a way of keeping future governments and future industry honest to make sure that it does have this extra layer of protection against any inappropriate development in the future. And that's a good thing."
The Murujuga Cultural Landscape is only the second Australian site inscribed on the World Heritage List specifically for First Nations cultural heritage, following the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape on Gunditjmara Country in south-west Victoria.
MAC chairperson Peter Hicks said the inscription recognised the area's global significance.
"We are elated to see the Murujuga Cultural Landscape recognised for its Outstanding Universal Value," he said on Friday.
"MAC represents the collective voice of the Ngarda-Ngarli (Traditional Owners and Custodians) and we are proud that we have been able to deliver on their request for MAC to secure World Heritage Listing for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape."
While UNESCO backed the listing, several committee members urged greater scrutiny of industrial emissions, with some UN advisers suggesting the decision be delayed until the sources of "degrading acidic emissions" were removed.
Delegates from countries including Zambia, Jamaica, South Korea, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, Argentina and Qatar praised the nomination, but echoed calls for close monitoring and environmental vigilance moving forward.
