Daly River
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Video: Natural Values of Territory Rivers
Learn moreWitness what makes the treasures of the Northern Territory special! Our pristine rivers are a true natural wonder and are unique in this world.
Unlike elsewhere in the world, Territory rivers like the Daly, Roper, Adelaide and Victoria remain in good shape – they haven’t been dammed, over-extracted and polluted like rivers down south.
The health of these rivers is important for providing drinking water, food, jobs, and underpinning culture.
They also support a wide range of unique species, some of which are not found anywhere else.cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, floodplain harvesting, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, roper river
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Video: Floodplain Harvesting in the Northern Territory
Learn more“We’re looking down the barrel of a repeat of the Murray-Darling Basin here in the Top End and it’s something that the community is absolutely opposed to.”
Kirsty Howey from Environment Centre NT explains the troubling process of ‘floodplain harvesting’ and why it risks our rivers.
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, floodplain harvesting, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, roper river
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‘NT government-commissioned probe of report predicting cotton environmental impacts finds most claims supported’: ABC
Learn moreRead the story HERE, listen HERE, or watch it HERE.
An independent assessment that the Northern Territory government commissioned to find out whether a green group’s report falsely claimed developing a major cotton industry could damage rivers and aquifers, has found most of its conclusions were correct.
Story by Jane Bardon. (ABC 2 January, 2024).You can sign our action asking the NT Govt to act to protect our rivers, floodplains and surrounding savannas HERE.
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, Territory rivers, waterextraction
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Cotton gin opening increases Northern development tussle: ABC PM
Learn moreListen to the story HERE.
The opening of the NT’s first cotton processing plant is being touted as an important step towards developing the North by the industry, but increasing community concerns over water use.
Interviews:
Sue Brosnan, Katherine cotton gin project coordinator
David Connolly, Tipperary Stations Group General Manager
Rosina Farrell, Jilkminggan Mangarrayi community leader
Kirsty Howey, NT Environment Centre
This report is from Jane Bardon. (ABC PM 15 Dec 2023 ).See updates and developments from this story HERE.
You can sign our action asking the NT Govt to act to protect our rivers, floodplains and surrounding savannas HERE.
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, Territory rivers, waterextraction
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Video: ‘The Daly River is a sacred place.’
Learn more“It’s important that we all look after and protect water … We want to keep this river still alive and flowing for all of us to enjoy.”
Meet Malak Malak Traditional Owners Theresa Lemon and Sheila White, and Mark Casey from Nauiyu, who share why the Daly River is sacred to them and why it needs to be protected for future generations.
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Video: Fishing the Northern Territory’s pristine Daly River
Learn moreMeet local fishing tourism operators and long-term fishos on the Northern Territory’s iconic barramundi fishing river – the Daly.
Tourists flock from all over to try and catch one of the Daly’s legendary trophy sized Barramundi and explore one of the most beautiful and abundant rivers in Northern Australia. Our incredible natural asset has secured major international fishing tournaments year on year and attracts the best sports fishers from around the world. These events inject millions of dollars into the NT economy and significantly boost the Territory’s tourism brand.
In particular, the Daly River tourism industry has experienced huge growth and today supports jobs across a number of tourism resorts, seasonal fishing guides and a stream of recreational fishers. This thriving Daly River tourism industry relies on a healthy, intact ecosystem, the spoils of which our visitors and ourselves get to enjoy.
This success is built on healthy river flows. We know that looking after this flow is critically important – especially to ensure our future livelihood in tougher years. Scientific research has firmly established that a healthy Barramundi fishery relies on regular wet season floods, creating highly productive ecosystems. Barramundi spawn early in the wet season and a successful recruitment of baby Barramundi relies on access to floodplains and billabongs. The ‘run-off’ is when Barramundi must return to the main river channel, putting them within easy reach of a fishing lure. This is the crucial element that draws in tourists, families, fishers and a whole manner of people.
Stripping away the lifegiving floodplain flows will be disastrous for our healthy Barramundi stocks and the vibrant tourism industry that relies on them.
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‘Aboriginal land council levels criticism at NT government over unregulated land clearing’: ABC
Learn moreExcerpt: “A prominent lobby group says land clearing is risking the NT’s river networks — which are some of the most pristine in the world — and the failure to properly regulate land clearing for a cotton industry is disappointing.
Warren de With, the president of the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the NT (AFANT), said extensive clearing near the Daly River — a tourism and barramundi fishing mecca — was of most concern.”
Read the full story HERE or watch it below.
ABC TV – LAND CLEARING: Aboriginal land council ‘loses confidence’ with NT Govt. Report by Roxanne Fitzgerald. You can also listen to the NT Country Hour segment below:
You can sign our action asking the NT Govt to act to protect our rivers, floodplains and surrounding savannas HERE.
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, roper, roper river, Territory rivers, waterextraction
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Federal intervention required over land clearing near iconic Top End river
Learn moreMEDIA RELEASE
Conservation advocates are calling for federal intervention to protect native savanna and rivers in the Top End following national revelations that the Northern Territory’s existing environmental protection regime may be failing to provide proper oversight.
“The public is rightly shocked by the media coverage of satellite pictures showing what appears to be unpermitted clearing and regulatory inaction on land clearing, right next to iconic rivers such as the Daly River,” said Pew Charitable Trusts’ Northern Territory manager Mitch Hart.
“The activity – revealed on ABC TV’s 730 current affairs program this week – raises questions about the Northern Territory Government’s capacity to protect our environment, culture, fishing and the lifestyle which Territorians value highly.
“We welcome the strong concern raised by the Federal Labor Government Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, who calls for a stop to unauthorised land clearing, as well as the intervention by independent Senator David Pocock and the call for an Inquiry by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of the Australian Greens.
“This is a key test of whether the Northern Territory Government can meet its responsibility to properly look after the Territory’s environment. We need properly enforced environmental standards that actually protect our rivers, floodplains and savannahs. First and foremost, the government must act to stop the rush to bulldoze Australian bush for cotton crops,” Mr Hart said
“We need to approach river management in a completely different way to ensure that we don’t repeat the dire mistakes made in rivers elsewhere in Australia. That means involving communities in developing management plans and mapping out new pathways for protection right across the Territory – using local Indigenous knowledge incorporating best science around water flows, native species’ requirements and climatic change impacts.
“Industrial cotton farming is not compatible with the sustainable management and protection of the Territory’s intact tropical river systems – some of the last in the world,” he said.
Note: The report – A Fork in the River – the consequences of a major new cotton industry in the Northern Territory, warns that the establishment of a major cotton industry in the Northern Territory could jeopardise Top End river systems, threatening their unique biodiversity and putting at risk the NT’s lucrative fishing and tourism industries.
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‘Turning a blind eye’ to cotton and land clearing in the NT: ABC 730
Learn moreRead the story HERE or watch it below.
‘The Northern Territory is home to one of the world’s last untouched tropical savannas. That fragile landscape and its rivers are now the new frontier for the nation’s cotton industry.
But satellite images suggest land clearing is taking place without a permit, raising questions about the Territory government’s oversight.’
This report is from Roxanne Fitzgerald and producer Hannah Meagher. (ABC 7.30 January 11, 2023).See updates and developments from this story HERE.
You can sign our action asking the NT Govt to act to protect our rivers, floodplains and surrounding savannas HERE.
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, Territory rivers, waterextraction
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ABC: Tourism fears NT floodplain harvesting could hit barramundi
Learn moreABC Coverage – January 3, 2023, by Jane Bardon
LISTEN HERE
The Northern Territory Government is hoping monsoon deluges can soon be harvested to support major new industries like cotton, but its new draft rules for allowing farmers to trap water from rivers and floodplains with dams have prompted accusations its preparing to allow Murray Darling Basin-style problems.
Featured:
Peter Hollowood, Mount Nancar Wilderness Retreat owner
Kirsty Howey, NT Environment Centre Director
Amy Dysart, NT Executive Director of Water Resources
Maryanne Slattery, Slattery & Johnson water consultants
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, Territory rivers, waterextraction