Territory rivers
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Canberra is finally listening
Learn moreThis 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.
cotton, cotton industry, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, roper river, Territory rivers
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Territory Rivers: the film
Learn moreThe rivers of the Northern Territory are some of the last free-flowing tropical rivers in the world. But the threat of large-scale agriculture projects looms – which, if established in the Top End, will require huge amounts of water taken from already stretched river systems and natural floodplains. This documentary short looks at the science, cultural importance and wellbeing of some of the NT’s iconic river systems – and the people, wildlife and environments that depend upon their survival.
cotton, Daly River, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, roper river, Territory rivers
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Stories from the river: Walter Rodgers
Learn more“The water of the Roper is precious … I don’t like the government plan regarding our water and we’d like to leave it as it is.
Walter Kolbong Rodgers is a Senior Culture Man from Ngukurr, on the Roper River. Hear more from him in the video below.
cotton, Daly River, floodplainharvesting, NT Government, roper, roper river, Territory rivers
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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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Land clearing permit challenged on Auvergne cattle station
Learn moreThe Northern Territory government is facing two separate lawsuits over a land clearing permit its critics say could damage important habitats and jeopardise sacred Indigenous sites.
Key points:
- A cattle station south-west of Darwin, near the Victoria River,m has been provided a permit to clear land for both cattle and a cotton growing trial
- The Northern Land Council and Environment Centre NT are taking legal action to have the permit overturned
- The permit was granted under Labor’s new streamlined approvals process
[wpgmza id=”4″]In November 2022, the Pastoral Land Board provided a permit for clearing of about 900 hectares on Auvergne Station, south-west of Darwin near the Western Australian border.
The land will predominantly be used for cattle grazing and fodder, but land clearing documents show about 250 hectares of that land is intended for a cotton growing trial.
The Environment Centre NT is seeking to have the permit revoked, saying that clearing land to grow cotton is not allowed under the type of permit that was granted.
“Right now, land clearing is skyrocketing in the Northern Territory, spurred in part by the cotton industry’s huge expansion plans. Land clearing is the biggest threat to biodiversity in Australia, and clearing for cotton will decimate local wildlife, impact rivers and add to greenhouse gas emissions.”
ECNT director Kirsty HoweyThe Northern Land Council is also launching legal action against the clearing. It says the rights of native title-holders were overlooked in the decision-making process, and is concerned that sacred sites are being put at risk by land clearing, claiming the land board doesn’t require applicants to obtain sacred site clearances.
“The land that is being cleared across the Northern Territory is not forgotten land that no one cares about. It belongs to Aboriginal people. There are legal rights over that land that must be respected.”
Northern Land Council Chief executive Joe Martin-JardWhat you can do
cotton, cotton industry, environment, floodplainharvesting, land clearing, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, Territory rivers, Victoria River, waterextraction
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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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‘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
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The impacts of ‘floodplain harvesting’ policies
Learn moreThe NT Government has recently released new plan that would allow big business to take huge amounts of water for cotton, and mining through ‘floodplain harvesting’ – taking wet season flows from our rivers and floodplains.
The Northern Territory is known around the world for its iconic natural treasures, including our free-flowing rivers. The government’s draft policy would lead to a rush of new dams on floodplains, meaning that massive amounts of water would be taken from river systems such as the Daly, Roper, and Katherine – threatening environmental and cultural values, as well as fishing, tourism, and our Top End lifestyle.
The NT Government are now asking the public to have their say on this plan. This is our chance to tell the Fyles Government why we want to guarantee the health of our rivers and floodplains and rule out plans to take more water from our rivers and allow dams. Submissions for this close Monday 9 January 2023.
Recently, we had independent policy experts on floodplain harvesting, Maryanne Slattery and Bill Johnson, who research water matters and provide expert advice on water policy and management, on an exclusive webinar to give information and advice on the new draft policy.
How you can help
1 – Take action to save our floodplains now
Use our online tool to tell the Fyles Government why you want them to guarantee the health of our rivers and floodplains and rule out plans to take more water from our rivers and dams.
2 – If you’d like to make a more detailed, personal submission
Like more details? If you want to write a more detailed, personalised submission, you can listen to a recent webinar from our friends at Slattery and Johnson (below), download their submission guide and send your submission to WaterSecurity.NTG@nt.gov.au.
We need a different approach – one that works to keep our Territory rivers special. Let’s keep the Territory’s rivers flowing.
If you have any questions reach out to our team via info@territoryrivers.org.au or Facebook. We’d love to see your submissions.
‘Floodplain Harvesting’ in the news
cotton, cotton industry, Daly River, environment, floodplainharvesting, murraydarlingbasin, NT Government, roper, roper river, Territory rivers