MURUJUGA CIRCLE OF ELDERS MEMBER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST BURRUP FERTILISER PLANT

A Yindjibarndi Elder has spoken out against the government’s approval of Perdaman’s $4.5 billion urea plant to be built on Murujuga, the Burrup Peninsula.

On Tuesday, Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek rejected an application for emergency heritage protection of the area where the plant will be built.

Yindjibarndi Elder Tootsie Daniel told Ngaarda Media she was “very much upset” to hear the Minister’s decision.

“[Murujuga is] very much sacred and very much alive. That place is special. It’s very sad what the government has done without consulting us,” she said.

Ms Daniel is in Perth for an extended stay for medical treatment.

Although she is a member of the Circle of Elders, Ms Daniel said she was left out of decision making regarding the Perdaman facility.

“If I was there I would have stood up for my Country, for my Ngurra,” she said.

Ms Daniel said approval given by Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) for the removal of heritage sites is a “wicked blessing that will hurt them and haunt them.”

She said the plant should be built at Maitland Estate, 20 kilometres away, rather than on the Burrup.

Minister Plibersek told ABC Radio National the heritage sites in question were not under threat, because “the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and its circle of elders, which is the legal and cultural authority for the area, believes that with appropriate care and appropriate ceremony they can be safely moved to a location just adjacent to the site.”

“I ultimately went with the views of the Aboriginal organisation that represents the five traditional owner groups in the area that has been legally constituted and democratically elected and has existed for some time, has been in consultation with Perdaman, which is the company in question, since 2018, and the circle of elders for that group has representation of both men and women,” she said.

“It’s no surprise that in any group you’ll sometimes have divergent views. In this case I’ve gone with the views of the group that has been set up for some years now to be the legal and cultural authority for the area representing the five traditional owner groups.”

Perdaman has told the ABC it expects to begin construction of the plant by late October.

Ngaarda Media has contacted Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation for comment.

Ms Daniel also spoke with ABC News Radio.