Friends of Australian Rock Art launch legal challenge to Woodside's North West Shelf extension

Today the Friends of Australian Rock Art have launched legal proceedings in the WA Supreme Court to challenge the WA government’s state approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf extension.

Woodside’s proposed North West Shelf extension is one of the most polluting fossil fuel projects in the world, and will have severe consequences both for the Murujuga rock art and for the environment of Western Australia as a whole.

Friends of Australian Rock Art has taken the step to commence these proceedings in the WA Supreme Court to ensure that the serious and ongoing impacts of Woodside’s North West Shelf proposal are properly examined as required under the Environmental Protection Act.

The Murujuga rock art is the largest and oldest rock art collection in the world with Outstanding Universal Values worthy of World Heritage Listing.

There is clear and compelling scientific evidence that ongoing pollution from Woodside’s gas processing facilities are making climate change impacts worse, and harming the Murujuga rock art and cultural heritage in other ways.

We believe the impacts of climate change on the Murujuga Rock art and its cultural landscape will be significant and severe. We have consistently raised concerns regarding sea level rise, increased wildfires, extreme heat and flooding and coastal erosion on the heritage landscape.

As the WA Minister and state government have ignored these concerns, we look forward to an opportunity to have the issue considered by the WA Supreme Court.