Big Cotton has set its sights on the Northern Territory and unless we stop them, we could see the Murray Darling disaster repeated in the Top-End.
The cotton industry wants to establish large-scale operations in the Northern Territory. If this happens, 10,000s of hectares of bushland would be bulldozed and billions of litres more water taken from our rivers. We have seen how this industry has devastated other river systems, and we simply can’t let our iconic rivers like the Daly and Roper be degraded and destroyed.
The free-flowing rivers of Australia’s north are too important. Our rivers support the unique way of life that Territorians love. Fishing, tourism, biodiversity and millennia of culture could all be destroyed if big cotton is allowed to expand in the NT.
It’s time for the Finocchiaro Government to start listening to Territorians and do more to look after the health of our rivers, lifestyle and the jobs that rely on their health now and into the future.
The Finocchiaro Government has a choice to make. Will they build on their no new dams on iconic rivers commitment and stand with Territorians and protect our precious rivers or will they cave-in to big cotton?
We call on the Finocchiaro Government to immediately stop the cotton industry from killing our rivers in the NT. No dams, no new water licenses and a holistic review led by community members of water governance that recognises and protects free-flowing rivers.