Nanna Kathy visited northern Australia recently and was keen to learn about the environmental issues facing the communities there. This week we are focusing on the Martuwarra Fitzroy River in the Kimberley.
The Murdoch media and Gina Rinehart held a Bush Summit in Broome on 20 August, one of a series of costly events held around the country. In Broome the community turned up outside while inside there were lots of empty chairs.
On her trip north Nanna Kathy called into the environment centres in both Broome and Darwin to chat about their concerns in their areas.
Environs Kimberley is campaigning to Save the Martuwarra Fitzroy River from water extraction for irrigation, and from nearby fracking of ‘tight’ and shale gas.
Environs Kimberley (EK)
Environs Kimberley is the peak environmental NGO of the Kimberley. In 1996 they formed to protect the Martuwarra Fitzroy River from being dammed which would’ve led to large-scale land clearing to enable 250,000 hectares of irrigated cotton crops. They won this campaign, but Gina Rinehart has flagged she wants water now.
In partnership with Traditional Owners and other conservation organisations EK has been involved in securing 30,000 km² of the Kimberley coast in marine parks, stopped a coal mine on the Martuwarra Fitzroy River and a copper mine at the Horizontal Falls. EK also successfully prevented Woodside from developing one of the world’s biggest gas facilities at Walmadany / James Price Point which would’ve led to the wholesale industrialisation of the Kimberley. With the leadership of Traditional Owners, 19 million hectares of the West Kimberley was National Heritage listed. World Heritage listing for the Kimberley where Traditional Owners want it is now possible, new National Parks along the Martuwarra have been achieved as well as the protection of its surface water from being taken for irrigation.
Martuwarra Fitzroy River
During the dry season, groundwater and the permanent water holes of the 730km Martuwarra Fitzroy River sustain many communities and their Aboriginal Cultural values.
During the wet season, the river often floods but not always. Floods are necessary to renew ecosystems, replenish groundwater and for wetlands to thrive and trigger breeding events and migrations.
The Icons of the Fitzroy River map shows the river’s 93,000 square kilometres catchment area.
Irrigation
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture holds two pastoral properties in the Kimberley, Liveringa and Fossil Downs, and both border the Martuwarra Fitzroy River.
Liveringa is situated near Camballin Wetlands. Stock water and the irrigation of cattle feed crops uses 1-2 billion litres of surface water from Snake Creek, a tributary of the Fitzroy River. The cattle station’s licensed to take 6 billion litres.
In 2018, 46 endangered sawfish died in pools that were drying up near to the irrigation infrastructure. In 2019 42 dead Barramundi and a crocodile were found in a tributary of Snake Creek. Environs Kimberley are calling for the removal of artificial infrastructure on the waterway that appears to be trapping the endangered sawfish and for the site to be rehabilitated.
Fossil Downs is about 50km northeast of Fitzroy Crossing in the National Heritage-listed area of the West Kimberley. Rinehart’s proposal to take 325 billion litres of water per year from the river have been met with stiff resistance from the community and Traditional Owners. More than 43,000 people sent submissions to the WA government objecting to the proposal in 2021.
Gogo Station, 10km east of Fitzroy Crossing is owned by Murray-Darling cotton and beef farmer, Malcom Harris and his family. They propose to clear over 8000 hectares of native bushland, build dams and take between 50 to 200 billion litres from a tributary of the Fitzroy. The WA Environmental Protection authority is assessing this proposal.
Large scale cotton farming in the Northern Territory has been called a ‘water grab’ by ABC Four Corners. ‘Pastoral leases’, public land leased for the grazing of stock, are permitted to grow crops for stock feed only. Malcolm Harris claims he’s growing cotton at the NT’s Ucharonidge Station to feed the seed to his cattle, however, the cotton industry’s peak body says cotton seed makes up only 15 per cent of a cotton crop’s value.
Tight and Shale Gas
Western Australia is littered with mining tenements, but the Kimberley has largely been free until recently.
Fossil fuel companies are exploring and drilling for shale and ‘tight’ gas close to the Fitzroy River. One frack can use up to 1,100 truckloads of water and lots of toxic chemicals which can pollute the ground and surface water.
Radioactive wastewater has been found at one exploration well and another well has leaked gas. If projects go ahead the consequences for the area are potentially huge – thousands of hectares of bush would be cleared, giant open ponds would hold toxic wastewater, gas flaring, possible earthquakes associated with shale gas, and a landscape fragmented by roads, pipelines and gas processing facilities.
The Kimberley will no longer be “one of the world’s last wilderness frontiers”, as described by Tourism Australia. It will be an industrialised region contributing massive emissions to climate change.
Increases in extreme heat events in the Kimberley region will have severe impacts on the wellbeing of people in the region, particularly indigenous communities. It will also impact key industries, including tourism and agriculture, and damage natural ecosystems. (HeatWatch – Extreme heat in the Kimberley: The Australia Institute)
The community are also very concerned about Ms Rinehart’s recent application for five mining leases on her pastoral leases, and the WA government’s delay in finalising a new national park near one of her properties.
FURTHER READING
Community asks Gina Rinehart to not trash the Kimberley
Environs Kimberley Facebook Page
Environs Kimberley campaign to stop fracking