The recent release of the Draft Mataranka Water Allocation Plan by the Northern Territory Government is "blatantly disrespectful" to the Traditional Owners who have been fighting for decades to protect the Roper River, the Northern Land Council says.
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Matthew Ryan, Chair of the NLC, said the plan would "jeopardise" the country and the future generations who will care for it.
"Our waters are sacred," he said. "Our songlines follow the water, they are crucial to our people's way of life."
The plan allows for large amounts of water to be taken by industries like cotton and fracking from the underground aquifer system which sustains Bitter Springs and Mataranka Thermal Pools in Elsey National Park, which could have severe impacts on the ecological values of the sites.
The sites are one of the Top End's world-renowned tourism attractions, with more than 200,000 people visiting Elsey National Park each year.
The NLC said it would back Traditional Owners of the Roper River catchment who are calling for the NT Government to rewrite the plan.
According to the Land Council the draft plan does not provide adequate information or any appropriate safeguards to have confidence that the rights and interests of Traditional Owners and Aboriginal people in the region would be met.
"The level of water extraction the Government is proposing through the draft plan is excessive. The water licensing arrangements will not keep the springs, the river, nor its floodplains safe," the NLC said.
"This Plan is yet another example of the (Government) not properly consulting with Traditional Owners and affected Aboriginal people.
"Countless submissions, the cultural map, Statement - what will it take for them to listen?
"It's 2024, we all know about the need to conserve water resources. Water is life for everyone."
Meanwhile, a new CSIRO report has found water extraction from the Roper River could see a 66,000-fold increase from a massive expansion of irrigated agriculture.
The Roper River Water Resource Assessment outlines possible scenarios of 660 billion litres of surface water a year for crops such as cotton, and the requirement of 40,000ha of land cleared across the catchment
The technical reports examine the possibility of large-scale floodplain harvesting across the Roper Catchment, as well as the cumulative impacts of up to five in-stream dams, including a hydroelectric dam on the Wilton River near Ngukurr.
"This report highlights the huge scale of development and the impacts on communities, people and ecosystems that could occur if the Roper River is not protected," Pew's NT Manager Mitch Hart said.
"Thousands of Territorians have already stood up in support of protection for the Roper - including demands that no more water be taken from the river, and no new dams be built.
"First Nations people along the river have demanded no more water be taken, and for communities to be properly consulted on how their country and the Roper is protected.
"Communities want our rivers kept healthy and it's crucial that the Government now acts to protect the Roper River before it is too late."
The NLC said the significance of the Roper River, its springs, and its floodplains was well-known.
Last year Traditional Owner representatives travelled to Canberra and presented a 13-metre hand-painted map to Parliament.
The associated statement which was signed by hundreds of community residents called for the Roper River system to be protected from threats
"If you take our water, you kill our culture. If you kill our culture, you kill our people," the statement read.
The NLC has called on Minister Kate Worden as Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water Security, and Minister Selena Uibo as the local member for Arnhem to take concerns seriously, and to listen to the voices of the community - the Water Plan must be rewritten.
The Northern Territory's peak conservation body has also slammed the Plan, calling it "a death knell for Mataranka and Bitter Springs and (the) tourism industry".
When the NT Government released the plan for public consultation earlier this year, it said "the sustainable management of our water resources will help grow the Territory economy" and the Plan was "protecting iconic springs and supporting the agriculture sector".
Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water Security Kate Worden said the Territory Labor Government was protecting the Territory's water resources.
"Water is one of the Territory's greatest assets and is playing a critical part in the Territory building a $40 billion economy by 2030," she said.
"This plan specifically protects and manages groundwater that provides the base flows to the Roper River and its system of springs and creeks during the dry season. These beautiful unspoilt places are incredibly important to Territorians.
"The Mataranka Water Allocation Plan therefore provides the right balance between supporting industry and protecting waterways, by giving certainty around availability of water that does not compromise environmental and cultural values."
The plan is now open for public consultation and includes proposed management arrangements that will ensure groundwater, iconic springs and flows in the Roper River continue to be managed sustainably and effectively.
Stakeholders who have contributed to the draft plan include the Mataranka Water Advisory Committee, comprising industry and landholder representatives, including Traditional Owners who have valuable knowledge of, and an unbreakable connection to the resource.
The draft plan area comprises three management zones - North Mataranka, South Mataranka and Larrimah. It applies to the groundwater resources of the Tindall Limestone Aquifer, within an area of approximately 9282sqkm extending about 190km from north to south, and up to 70km east to west.
Extraction limits will protect the groundwater resource and maintain spring flows of the Roper River, in line with natural climatic conditions during dry years while providing long-term water security for agriculture, horticulture and mining enterprises in the region.
In practical terms, this maintains more than 90 per cent of flows to the Roper River, during the dry season.
In the Larrimah zone, water is stored deeper underground and therefore development will have less impact, so more water is being made available.
To view the draft plan and have your say go to haveyoursay.nt.gov.au before consultation closes on 3 June 2024.
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