Yesterday's preliminary approval of a half-century expansion of gas operations right by the 50,000-year-old petroglyphs came on the same day the United Nations urged Australia to rid the region of destructive industry and save the rock engravings, which are eight times older than the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Today, The Australia Institute is proud to release a documentary on ancient art and the heartbreaking story behind the fight to save it.
The Fight to Save Murujuga explains the significance of unique ancient artwork. It lays out the ironclad evidence that the government has ignored in granting one of Australia's biggest polluters, Woodside Energy, a licence to destroy Murujuga.
"It's not until you set foot in that landscape surrounded by these extraordinary petroglyphs do you appreciate the scale of this disaster," said Stephen Long, Senior Fellow at The Australia Institute, who produced and narrated The Fight to Save Murujuga.
"It's overwhelming. It's hard to believe that governments have allowed rampant development, the largest petrochemical hub in the southern hemisphere, amid this priceless ancient cultural heritage, and are now greenlighting a 50-year expansion of Woodside's gas development.
"Viewing the artwork, you can hear the roar of burning gas. In some places, you can stand there admiring these globally significant engravings, then look up and see the pipes and flame stacks of the gas plant. That itself demonstrates a perverted set of values. Add to this the threat that industrial emissions pose to the rock art, and this should be an international scandal.
"New Environment Minister Murray Watt says he's imposed conditions to protect the rock art, but hasn't made them public; whether they are adequate remains to be seen. Even if they are, this fossil fuel expansion is a climate wrecker, and the gas extension and expansion will further compromise the cultural landscape.
"This government, with a fresh mandate and huge majority, which tells us over and over it's taking action on climate change, has just failed its biggest test with this disgraceful decision.
"Despite the mandate, despite the majority, it's unleashed a 50-year carbon bomb on the planet."
