The legal challenge over the Murujuga rock art site’s protection and the Woodside North West Shelf Extension project has advanced beyond the previously reported August hearing.
The Federal Court has recently ruled that the Australian federal government has “unreasonably” delayed making a decision on a heritage protection application submitted in 2022 by Murujuga Traditional Custodian Raelene Cooper.
The court criticised the three-and-a-half-year delay in considering this application under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act, though it did not order an immediate decision, indicating the minister was likely to decide “very shortly”.
Justice Angus Stewart noted the government’s delay as excessive without adequate explanation, emphasising a “positive duty” to make timely decisions on heritage protection.
The court scheduled a case management hearing for September 19, 2025, to revisit the matter if a decision has not been made by then.
Cooper, who has been campaigning for years to protect the ancient rock art, expressed relief at the ruling but lamented the damage already done to the site during the prolonged process, specifically referencing ongoing development such as the Perdaman fertiliser facility.
In parallel, the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program Report (MRAMP) has come under scrutiny after disclosures revealed that the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation authored the report’s executive summary rather than the original scientists.
Lead scientist Benjamin Mullins described the summary as a “very rosy spin” intended to encourage readers to focus on it rather than the full report, which contained data showing unsafe industrial emissions threatening the rock art.
Judith Hugo, co-convenor of the Friends of Australian Rock Art, condemned the government’s handling of the report and called for independent oversight and a Royal Commission, emphasising that “the WA government has failed to protect the rock art landscape, and now they are covering up the damage they have allowed to occur”.
The North West Shelf Extension by Woodside remains controversial due to its significant carbon emissions — comparable to 12 coal-fired power stations annually — and its threats to Murujuga’s vast cultural landscape, which is now officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The ongoing legal and political battles reflect tensions between heritage preservation and industrial development at one of the world’s most important rock art sites.