‘Won’t affect domestic supply’: Fertiliser companies back plans to make Burrup Peninsula a world heritage site

Fertiliser companies have backed proposals to make WA’s Burrup Peninsula a world heritage site to better protect Indigenous sites in the region, saying it won’t affect their plans to shore up domestic supply. Both Yara International and Perdaman will give full support for moves by the Federal Government to give the region near Karratha full protection under UNESCO World Heritage status. The move — which is also supported by the McGowan Government, traditional owners and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation — seeks to protect a number of ancient Aboriginal rock art sites, which date back as much as 40,000 years. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and her WA counterpart Reece Whitby announced this month they had applied to UNESCO in January to have the site added to the world heritage list. The nomination was jointly prepared by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and WA Government, with support from the Commonwealth and technical experts, and covers nearly 100,000ha of land and sea. It had been speculated the listing could impact projects in the region such as Woodside’s North West Shelf and Pluto LNG plants and private company Perdaman’s $4.5 billion urea plant. It could also embolden conservationists and activist groups, who have become increasingly vocal about what they call the risk posed to the Burrup’s ancient petroglyphs by more industry in the area. Perdaman flagged it also supported the bid for the heritage listing and had made necessary steps to ensure the urea plant would not be impacted by changes in the region. Its planned $4.5 billion plant near Karratha is intended to convert gas into urea, which can be used for fertilisers. It would be the biggest such plant in Australia, producing almost enough urea to meet the nation’s needs each year, although about half would be exported. “Perdaman’s team has worked closely with Traditional Owners and MAC for years to ensure industry and Art can live together,” a spokeswoman said. “All the relevant factors have been included in the project’s design and approval process to enable the plant’s safe operation.” Norweigan firm Yara International — which has an ammonia fertiliser plant in the region run through its Pilbara company — also expressed it support for the listing. The chemicals company uses gas as a feedstock at its plant on the Burrup Peninsula to produce ammonia, which is subsequently processed into a fertiliser. “Yara Pilbara supports World Heritage Listing of the Murujuga cultural landscape,” a spokesman said. “Our company is committed to working with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation to preserve the cultural heritage of the area.” Gas giant Woodside also said it would support the listing of the Murujuga’s cultural landscape on the basis of the co-existence of heritage and industry within the region. The inclusion of the Burrup Peninsula would see it become part of the broader UNESCO region which includes the Purnululu National Park, Shark Bay, the Ningaloo Coast and Fremantle Prison. The area contains one million petroglyphs across an area of 37,000ha, representing one of the densest and most diverse collections of 40,000-year-old rock art in the world. UNESCO’s assessment process will take at least 18 months and the nomination is unlikely to be considered until at least mid-2024.