Senate debates

Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Committees

Environment and Communications References Committee; Report

6:27 pm

Photo of Dean SmithDean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Siewert, the evidence will be clear. I sat in the Perth hearing when the City of Karratha came and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation joined us. The other issue—and it's no less insignificant—is that the technical evidence is disputed. If you ever want to see the manufacture of a Greens campaign to undermine industrial development in this country, a Greens campaign to impose World Heritage listing on a particular area of this country, this is a test case. You will see in that report the very heavy disputation around the evidence. I don't want to be unkind to Professor John Black, who does have a very strong history as a very senior official in the CSIRO—but is he a Burrup rock art expert? Is he a rock art expert at all? Even you would have to accept that the answer to that is no.

Coalition senators, after very careful consideration—and the technical issues are not issues that are easily understood by senators, who by their very nature have to be jacks-of-all-trades and masters of none—dispute the technical evidence that Professor Black, the Bob Brown Foundation and the Friends of Australian Rock Art are using in regards to this issue. The real danger, if I might say so, is that relying on evidence that lacks credibility, that lacks authority, might in the longer term undermine your argument that this should be preserved—because it should be preserved and great care should be taken.

I encourage people to read the Senate committee report. Pay close attention to the fact that the committee does agree on the substantive issue that the rock art is worthy of preservation, but coalition senators very heavily dispute the level of evidence that's been put before the committee. I will quote this to you, if I have the time available, so that people can be very clear about what the coalition's position is on this matter. I'm going to quote from three paragraphs in our additional comments. We say:

CSIRO's final report concluded that a change in the colour characteristics of the rock surfaces had been identified during 13 years of monitoring the rocks, however, there was no statistically significant difference between the two control sites in Dolphin and Gidley islands and the sites close to industrial activity. CSIRO stated:

It should be noted that the report provides the colour measurements and hence changes in colour. The reasons for the colour changes are not addressed explicitly in this report.

We go on to say:

The committee was informed by CSIRO that the small changes in the colour characteristics of the rock surfaces could be the results of natural weathering or other causes and that:

…while the indication of colour change is important, and warrants closer attention, it cannot be automatically assumed that it represents the impact of pollution from industrial plants. Sites further from the industrial development, included in the study in order to test whether change is more rapid at sites more prone to pollution effects, in fact showed no statistically significant difference from the other sites.

Senator Siewert interjecting—

It is interesting that in your opening remarks, Senator Siewert, you said that you've got a high regard for the CSIRO, except in this matter. Is that because its findings do not support your particular world view on this issue? The technical evidence will remain a topic of disputation tomorrow, for the next few weeks and for the next few months, and I don't doubt that Professor Black will continue on his campaign, supported by the Friends of Australian Rock Art and the Bob Brown Foundation in trying to do two things: firstly, to secure World Heritage listing, even if some people are not ready to proceed down that path at the moment, which is true of the Aboriginal corporation; and, secondly, to undermine industrial development on the Burrup Peninsula, which brings significant benefits to your state, Senator Siewert, Western Australia, and significant benefits to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Western Australia.

I have been on lots of Senate committee inquiries, and none has made me more incensed than this. But the evidence is there and people can pay very, very close attention. The campaign of the Bob Brown Foundation and the Friends of Australian Rock Art has been exposed. Senator Dodson, 'paternalistic' was the word that the Aboriginal corporation used to describe the attitudes of the Friends of Australian Rock Art. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.

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