Industrial development and the failure of process

Industrial development has seriously impacted the cultural heritage values of the Dampier Archipelago since the 1960s resulting in the physical destruction of hundreds of cultural features, and thousands of individual petroglyphs.

The process of decision-making with respect to the destruction of cultural heritage is not based on a sound and comprehensive knowledge of the values and significance. Rather, it is primarily based on the requirements of developers.

The original decisions to site infrastructure and industrial facilities in the Dampier area did not consider cultural heritage values. The results of these decisions have continued to shape all subsequent land-use planning on the Burrup even though the outstanding heritage significance of the area has been evident since the early 1970s. The most recent agreement perpetuates the arbitrary division between conservation reserve and developed land, based on the original unsound decisions. The entire Dampier Archipelago is of outstanding heritage significance and should be managed as a single unit.

Past practices of record keeping, site recording standards and survey methodology have failed to develop a reliable and comprehensive data base on which land use planning decisions can be based. Although a large amount of data has been collected relevant to assessing heritage values in the Dampier Archipelago, very little of this has been analysed. The analysis of this substantial amount of archived data vital to provide an informed basis for assessing significance and making management decisions.

The density of cultural features in the Dampier Archipelago and the high level of integrity of cultural landscapes over the whole area mean that the appropriate scale of management and planning should be associations of cultural features or cultural landscapes rather than individual registered sites. The present system of approval to disturb individual registered sites under Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972-1980) is disastrous for heritage conservation.

The development of a comprehensive heritage management plan for the whole of the Dampier Archipelago is a matter of urgency.

Over the long term, industrial development is incompatible with the cultural heritage values of the Dampier Archipelago.