The Wong-goo-tt-oo, which is one of three groups negotiating a multi-million dollar native title deal with the State Government on the Burrup Peninsula, has appealed to Federal Heritage Minister David Kemp to overturn a Section 18 clearance awarded by WA Indigenous Affairs Minister Alan Carpenter last week.
The clearance gives Woodside approval to temporarily bury one rock engraved with petroglyphs to protect it from works done on the 130km pipeline.
Dr Kemp can overturn the decision under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act if he accepts claims from the Wong-goo-tt-oo that Mr Carpenter should not have awarded the clearance.
Woodside has given the Minister an undertaking it would not proceed with construction of the pipeline while he considers the appeal.
The Aboriginal group and its lawyers have come under fire in Parliament as the Government becomes increasingly frustrated with its refusal to sign up to a $27 million native title deal, which would clear the way for an estimated $6 billion of resource projects to go ahead on the Burrup.
