Canberra is finally listening

This week we put the voices of the Territory on the national stage. Traditional Owners, experts and environment groups were in Canberra this week, raising the alarm about the threats facing the Territory’s rivers.

We met with Ministers, MPs, Senators and spoke to the media to make sure that the voices of Territorians and Traditional Owners are heard over the lobbying of big business. And Parliament listened!

Thanks to pressure from people like you, Parliament has established a special inquiry into water, food and energy security in the Northern Territory. And we won a public commitment from Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy to advocate for First Nations people to have a say in decision-making across the Roper River catchment.

Our campaign is breaking through in Canberra as the government feels the pressure from Territorians who don’t want a repeat of the Murray-Darling disaster on Territory rivers.

Traditional Owners Jocelyn James (Mangarrayi), Melissa Andrews (Ngukurr), Cecilia Lake (Mangarrayi), Anne-Marie Woods (Mangarrayi) meet with Minister Malarndirri McCarthy (top right), Senator Dorinda Cox (bottom left) and Senator David Pocock (bottom right).

But the work doesn’t stop here. We know that the cotton industry will be desperate to influence this inquiry. And we need to make sure that the voices of Territorians can be heard over the influence of big business.

Share the good news on your social media and ask your friends to join the campaign!

We will be keeping a close eye on this inquiry, working to support communities to have an increased say on decisions across the Roper catchment and keeping you updated on when you can have an influence.

We need urgent action to restore integrity to the NT’s water management system, which has been riddled with conflicts of interest. As the cotton industry sets its sights on the Northern Territory, now more than ever, we need better management systems and laws that protect these unique rivers.

Our campaign is working. Not even the politicians in Canberra can ignore the threats facing the Territory rivers. We know how important these rivers are to our way of life and environment and it’s about time more politicians did too.