Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc. (WA) – Affidavit Submitted by Judith Hugo, FARA Co-Convenor 14 October 2020 Background
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Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc. (WA) – Affidavit Submitted by Judith Hugo, FARA Co-convenor 14 October 2020 Background: FARA is an independent non-profit voluntary organisation established in 2006 to protect, preserve and promote Australia’s Aboriginal rock art, particularly the ancient petroglyphs of the Dampier Archipelago, including the Burrup Peninsula. Although the Conservation Council of WA, the Environmental Defenders’ Office (WA) and the National Trust have supported our cause through advice and submissions, they have a broader focus on the environment and built heritage and so we remain the leading independent body in WA solely focussed on protecting the rock art of the Dampier Archipelago from industrial damage. All FARA’s activities are undertaken by voluntary members who are passionate about the protection, preservation and promotion of the ancient rock art, particularly that threatened by increasing infrastructure development and acidic industrial emissions on the Burrup. We are governed by a constitution (recently revised, attached) and a committee which meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Of our current 11 committee members (comprising, among others, a doctor, an anthropologist, 2 teachers, an entomologist, an architect, a physicist, a geologist/ environmental scientist and an art curator) 6 are founder members dating back to 2006. Until 2010 FARA was a political lobby group running an awareness campaign known as Stand Up for the Burrup, whereby supporters around the world either held letters or wore t-shirts which spelled out Stand Up for the Burrup in front of iconic monuments or sites that had long been granted World Heritage status, like the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, the Pyramids – none of which were nearly as old as the c50,000 year old rock engravings on the Burrup! These e-photos were then sent to major industrial and government stakeholders until we got the attention of Federal Environment Ministers Peter Garrett and then Malcolm Turnbull, who granted NHL to the Dampier Archipelago in 2007. In his press release on 3/7/2007 Turnbull acknowledged FARA for raising awareness of the Burrup peninsula’s unique heritage, as had Malcolm Fraser on 3/6/2007 when he congratulated us for the success of our global Stand up for the Burrup campaign and its efforts to ‘prevent any further destruction and desecration of the irreplaceable art on the Burrup/Murujuga. (Both press releases attached.) But we still witnessed the application and granting of more industrial leases on the Burrup and the steady increase of vandalism and graffiti by the FiFo workforce – we needed a more direct interface with those in authority! Then in 2010 Prof John Black (JB) from Sydney came on our annual tour to the Burrup – and has been our chief supporter, strategic advisor and FARA Life Member ever since! Thanks to his guidance we became better focussed and directly lobbied the Federal and WA governments and industry on the Burrup (Woodside and Yara Pilbara) through meetings and submissions in order to – 1) prevent further industrialisation of the Burrup 2) appeal to industry to respect the heritage values of the rock art by seriously reducing their industrial emissions 3) propose the Dampier Archipelago for Tentative nomination on UNESCO’s World Heritage List – which was finally done by the WA Govt on 23/1/2020 On 26/5/2017 Friends of Australian Rock Art won the ‘Contribution by a Community- based Organisation’ Award at the WA Heritage Awards, for its commitment to cultural heritage and/or heritage related work, services or programs in Western Australia. FARA ACTIVITIES OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS Engagement with Governments and Industry via letter/email: 7/12/2010 – to WA Premier Colin Barnett urging no more industry on the Burrup 21/1/2011 – to Sam Walsh, ex Rio Tinto chair, then Chairman of WA Chamber of Arts & Culture (written by June M) 4/2/2011 – to all WA politicians to raise awareness of the endangered rock art 11/2/2011 – to WA Dept of Water & Environmental Regulation (DWER), as above Feb 2011 – letters to Directors & Board Members of Wesfarmers, Incitec Pivot, Orica and Yara International asking them to reconsider their Burrup plans 21/6/2011 – to Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke re preservation of Burrup rock art 15/8/2011 - to Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull re above 21/12/2011 – to CEOs of Apache Energy, Orica & Yara International re industrial impact on the Burrup rock art 6/2/2012 – emails to Colin Barnett & Yara International re publication stating their purchase of an interest in Burrup Fertilisers 13/2/2012 – to Prof Ben Boer of Sydney University requesting legal advice on the differences between World Heritage and National Heritage listings 23/3/2012 – to Chairman of Yara International by Sue Boyd (ex-diplomat) on behalf of FARA asking company to review its plans to build an ammonium nitrate plant amongst the rock art – to consider its international responsibility re heritage 10/7/2012 - to Hon Brendan Grylls, Deputy Premier, re issues concerning the rock art and possible meeting 19/11/2012 – to DWER’s Burrup Rock Art Monitoring Committee asking that John Black represent them on this committee 5/2/2013 – to Colin Barnett requesting the above 9/9/2013 – to Nigel Routh, Federal Assistant Manager of the Heritage Branch, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Community 10/3 & 19/5/2014 – to Colin Barnett requesting access to data from CSIRO report 15/4 & 20/9/2014 – to Greg Hunt, new Federal Environment Minister, pleading for protection of the rock art 28/9/2016 – to Yara International advising against adding TAN plant to Fertiliser plant licence Sept 2016 – JB to Geoffrey Cousins, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation and Bob Brown Foundation seeking help with processes to change the minds of governments. Bob Brown agreed to match FARA with an equal $20,000 to employ Christine Milne, former Greens leader, to help lobby for the reduction of industrial emissions on the Burrup. 6/2/2017 – to Norwegian Prime Minister re Yara pollution of Murujuga and destruction of rock art 11/11/2017 - Letter from JB on behalf of FARA to WA Environment Minister signed by 13 prominent Australians requesting a Ministerial Review of clause 5.1 of the Works Approval for the TANPF – see subsequent meeting 28/11/2017 below Dec 2017 – Feb 2018: ongoing correspondence with EPA over terms of the review of ‘best-practice’ and its conduct until the Minister requested EPA to undertake a formal review of MS 870 5-1: the impact of air quality on rock art. This review would not have occurred without the perseverance of FARA. Early 2018 - the Yara TANPF Commissions Report to the Government was provided to FARA with a full list of 15-minute emissions from the nitric acid stack. An analysis of the emissions and a photograph of a release into the atmosphere of a cloud of nitrogen dioxide provided evidence that over 70 emissions had occurred that were potentially dangerous for human health. Feb 2018 – JB wrote and sent report to Govt, which led to Govt commissioning an independent review of the evidence. The independent reviewer agreed with the arguments, but said there was no proof that the cloud would have existed for the10 minutes needed for an effect on health… 20/7/18 – to Vikas Ramal, CEO Perdaman, re proposed new urea plant on Burrup FARA Engagement with Government and Industry via direct meetings: 11/3/2011 – meeting with National Trust re support for FARA April 2011 - with WA Premier, Ministers for Environment (Minchin), Indigenous Affairs (Collier), Chair of EPA (Paul Vogel), State Development (Marmion) and indigenous representatives (Custodian Wilfred Hicks, Ian Viner and Stephen Walker, lawyers) 9/6/2011 – with Australian Heritage Council 12/7/2011 – with Dr John Avery, consultant anthropologist re Aboriginal Heritage Act 13/9/2011 – with Melissa Parke, Federal Member for Fremantle, to arrange a meeting with Tony Burke, Federal Environment Minister 29/12/2011 – with Apache Energy, advising they reconsider developing on the Burrup – and they did! 1/3/2012 – JB with Assoc Prof Frank Murray, Chairman of Burrup Rock Art Monitoring Management committee, re limitations of CSIRO research 14/3/2012 – with Allisdair MacDonald, DEC Manager for the Pilbara region re FARA proposed management plan for Murujuga 21/3/2012 – JB & J Hugo meet Tony Burke in Canberra (with Heritage advisors Madeline Fletcher & Brian Prince) re antiquity of Murujuga petroglyphs and necessary conditions for EPBC granting of a Works Approval for the Yara TAN plant In 2011 we persuaded Environment Minister Tony Burke to call for an emergency Australian Heritage Commission review on The Potential Outstanding Universal Values of the Dampier Archipelago Site and Threats to that Site. Its 2012 report found that: - There is adequate existing research and data to justify that the heritage values of the Dampier Archipelago meet the threshold of Outstanding Universal Value against World Heritage criterion (i) i.e. The Dampier Archipelago represents a masterpiece of human creative genius. - The heritage values of the Dampier Archipelago may also meet criterion (iii) i.e. The Dampier Archipelago bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living. 24/4/2012 – with Yara International representatives, urging them to apply their ‘best practice’ scrubber technology to TAN plant 26/6/2012 – with Premier Colin Barnett to discuss science