Overview

• Raelene Cooper’s lawyers argued in the Federal Court that the environment minister’s failure to decide her February 2022 Section 10 bid has “grossly exceeded” a reasonable timeframe.
• Justice Angus Stewart reserved his decision after the minister’s counsel said the process was complex, involved changes of ministers, and was affected by resourcing constraints and a backlog.
• An independent report found no conclusive proof emissions are damaging the petroglyphs but urged protective steps, including advising Perdaman to drop a causeway that WA later approved and began building near a fish thalu site.
• Federal confirmation of Woodside’s North West Shelf extension remains pending until the company accepts undisclosed conditions, with its response timeline stretching to nearly three months.
• Murujuga was inscribed on the World Heritage List last month, and a separate case by Friends of Australian Rock Art is challenging the state approval for the North West Shelf project in the WA Supreme Court.