The NT needs strong laws that protect our rivers and savanna

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The Northern Territory’s laws are failing to protect our unique rivers and communities. It’s up to Territory politicians to act to change this and this work must start now.

Recent revelations in the media showed that the NT Government may be turning a blind eye to ongoing land clearing for big cotton, including right next to one of the Territory’s iconic barramundi fishing rivers – the Daly River. This could have disastrous impacts on the health of our rivers, including tourism, fishing, wildlife and local communities.

Allowing big cotton to establish on our iconic Top End rivers risks increased pressure for water extraction, more clearing of native savanna, and pollution from chemicals and sediment running into rivers. We’ve seen the devastating impact of large-scale industrial cotton on rivers like the Murray Darling, and can’t afford to have it repeated here.

It’s time that we had strong laws that will protect our rivers and floodplains, keeping them safe from industrial scale water extraction. The Territory Government must urgently bring in legally enforceable buffer zones to stop broadscale land clearing and stop new water extraction or dams on our sensitive rivers and floodplains.

Join the call for the NT Government to act to protect our rivers, floodplains and surrounding savannas.