Environment Centre NT and Arid Lands Environment Centre Media Release
Conservation groups Environment Centre NT and Arid Lands Environment Centre are calling on the Federal Government to establish a Royal Commission into water management, deforestation and impacts on the rights of Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory.
The calls follow revelations aired by ABC’s Four Corners program, ‘Water Grab’, into the mismanagement of water licences in the Territory, land-clearing laws riddled with loopholes, and shocking conflicts of interest regarding government decision-makers.
The groups are calling on the Federal Government to immediately commit to:
- Support the Northern Territory Government to implement an immediate moratorium on new water licensing and water allocations in the Roper system and land clearing permits on pastoral leases.
- A Royal Commission into water management, land clearing and deforestation in the NT and the impacts on the rights of Traditional Owners.
- A Commonwealth-funded First Nations-led governance project for the Roper catchment.
Quotes from Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of Environment Centre NT:
“This national scandal has exposed a fatally compromised system of land and water management in the Northern Territory,” said Executive Director of Environment Centre NT Kirsty Howey.
“This is a complete dereliction of duty from Northern Territory decision-makers and raises serious questions about just how far the NT Government are willing to change the rules to accommodate big business. The Federal Government can’t sit on the sidelines – urgent action is required before the Northern Territory’s iconic savanna is trashed, rivers are destroyed, and Traditional Owners rights are undermined. We don’t have time to wait.
“Territorians have made it clear they don’t want to see what has occurred down south happen to Top End rivers. 72.5% of NT residents say large cotton companies shouldn’t be allowed to expand operations until they fix the problems they have caused in the Murray Darling,” said Ms Howey.
“The Northern Territory’s savanna is a national treasure and the world’s largest remaining intact tropical woodland – but it’s at risk of being bulldozed by cotton producers. Big cotton devastated the Murray Darling Basin – we mustn’t be bullied into making the same mistakes here,” she concluded.
Quotes from Adrian Tomlinson, CEO of Arid Lands Environment Centre:
“The Northern Territory is now a national embarrassment when it comes to environmental protection. It’s time for a complete overhaul, but we simply can’t trust the Northern Territory Government to do the job. We’re calling on the Federal Government to step in and publicly probe this unfolding disaster before it’s too late.
“The Northern Territory is known around the world for its iconic natural treasures, including our free-flowing rivers and underground aquifers. But the policies of successive governments have paved the way for massive amounts of water taken from aquifers in central Australia and river systems – threatening groundwater dependent ecosystems and cultural values, as well as fishing, tourism, and our Territory lifestyle,” said Arid Lands Environment Centre CEO Adrian Tomlinson.
“Whilst the spotlight placed on this scandal by Four Corners is certainly welcome, this is by far not the first time that both the NT and Federal Governments have been warned of these matters, including by communities themselves. The 2022 release of the Georgina Wiso allocation plan resulted in 17 of the nation’s leading water scientists writing to the Chief Minister warning of ‘particularly poor and regressive’ approaches.
“Enough is enough. We need to ensure that we do not lose what makes the Territory so special – our amazing and unique natural environment,” he concluded.
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There’s certainly some very serious and dubious ‘environmental’ issues going on in the NT, but also in the Kimberly and FNQ and the Gulf. It seems to be treated as ‘outa sight outa mind’.
IMO there’s certainly a need to address all the matters urgently and properly, per laws regs and policies. Seems initially, enforcement is what’s needed.
Clakka, agree that the issues raised are serious and demand investigation.
However the NT Govt seems to reckon there’s no problem.
“NT government defends cotton industry’s land and water use as calls grow for federal inquiry”,
Summary:
“The NT government has defended allowing pastoralists to change pastoral lease uses without a permit, saying it’s legal to grow crops to feed livestock. A former pastoral land regulator says that rule only allows permit-free land use changes if the primary purpose of growing the crop is for cattle feed.”
See [ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-21/nt-cotton-industry-government-land-water-laws/104247824/ ]
They’re feeding cotton to the cattle? Time to go back to the Territory for a while – I want to see that happen.
This is exactly why Liberals and LNP campaigned so hard for the NO vote in the Voice Referendum.
Listening to First Nations people would have killed off the very lucrative cotton industry by ensuring they were listened to.
Would have limited any move to farm using the aquifer to provide water for other crops.
Would also have ensured that the environment would not be destroyed, that it would be there for far longer than the short term profits that raping the land could provide.
But what would those first nations people know anyway. Successive NT governments have been supportive over indigenous interests since it attained self government, no mater which party was in power,
leefe
In cotton growing areas cottonseed, a byproduct of the cotton ginning process, is fed to a beef cattle diet.
Whole cottonseed supplementation is a common practice in beef cattle nutrition, providing a high-energy and protein-rich feedstuff.
Terrence:
It’s also an environmental nightmare. But who cares as long as the cattle barons are making $$$?