Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to announce the proposed extension of the life of a major gas site in northern Western Australia to 2070. According to recent reporting, industrial emissions are impacting Murujuga – a globally renowned rock art site with carvings over 40,000 years old.

Dylan Bird is joined by Benjamin Smith, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia, to discuss the significance of Murujuga, the history of industry in the region, recent reporting on the impacts of emissions, and the survival of rock art in the face of industrialisation.

'You’ve got the largest industrial hub in the southern hemisphere emitting tens of thousands of tons of noxious gases … Murujuga [is identified] as one of the most polluted places in the southern hemisphere, and so we have been worried for a long time … the Aboriginal traditional owners as well, that this pollution will be damaging the art.'

Photo credit: Government of Western Australia via website.