Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper has launched legal action against the Minister for Water and the Environment in the Federal Court to compel Murray Watt to make a determination of her Murujuga Section 10 cultural heritage assessment, which has been with the federal government for more than three years.
It comes as the Environment Minister is set to make a decision about Woodside’s North West Shelf extension, which bears on Cooper’s Section 10 application for protection of Murujuga’s sacred rock art from the impacts of industrial developments at Woodside’s Burrup Hub, which includes North West Shelf.
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Lawyers for Cooper wrote to the Environment Minister on April 16, 2025, to demand a resolution of her Section 10 application before a decision is made about the North West Shelf extension, and renewed her request to Murray Watt following his appointment as Environment Minister this month.
Cooper, a former Chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation said, “Today I am commencing proceedings in the Federal Court to force Environment Minister Murray Watt to address my application for protection of the Murujuga rock art under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Protection (ATSIHP) Act.
“I originally brought this application in early 2022 when I learned how my cultural heritage would be affected if industry was allowed to continue expanding on Murujuga, including Woodside’s North West Shelf extension. Many hundreds of people and organisations made submissions in support of my application for urgent protection of this area.
“That was three years ago. For their entire first term, Labor have ignored my application while the devastation to my cultural heritage has continued on Murujuga.
“During this time, I have been sickened to witness the devastation caused by the construction of the Perdaman fertiliser facility approved by Minister Plibersek without the consent of traditional custodians.
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“Now I understand the new Environment Minister Murray Watt is preparing to approve Woodside’s proposed 50-year North West Shelf extension, which will be a death sentence for the oldest and largest rock art site on earth.
“There must be an urgent assessment of the ongoing impacts of all industry on the Burrup before any further extensions or expansions are considered. There must be free, prior and informed consent from Traditional Custodians for anything that happens in this incredibly special place.”
