The Country Liberal Party Government’s Environment and Water Minister, Joshua Burgoyne has stood down the entire membership of the Western Davenport Water Advisory Committee, revoked the Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2024-2027 and declared the new Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2024-2034 increasing the Estimated Sustainable Yield (ESY) by 30%, from 67,700 ML to 87,700 ML. This has occurred with zero consultation with the Water Advisory Committee, key stakeholders or the public.
Minister Burgoyne has also declared the Mataranka Water Allocation Plan without any engagement with the WAC, key stakeholders or the public.
Minister Burgoyne has also scrapped the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management for New and Expanding Large Emitters Policy (known as the Large Emitters Policy) and made regressive changes to the petroleum act.
Quotes attributed to Maureen Nampijinpa O’Keefe, born and raised in Ali Curung
“This goes against our human rights to access this water. This is about human lives and the health risks, dialysis machines need this water. Our lives are important too, as water is life”
“We the people that are going to suffer the most from this, and they are putting our lives at risk”
“Are they thinking about the people or themselves? It is greed for money”
“It will damage the Country, we will be living in a wasteland, they are going to make it a wasteland.”
Quotes attributed to Alex Vaughan, Policy Officer, Arid Lands Environment Centre
“This is an unbelievable political ploy to make controversial and appalling decisions about water, the most precious resource, and climate change, the greatest economic and social challenge of the 21st Century, just 7 days before Christmas. This announcement is environmental, climate and economic vandalism”
“The CLP promised to be transparent and accountable, but have made highly contentious decisions about water in the Western Davenport region and across the Territory with zero consultation or scrutiny.”
“The rhetoric justifying the changes is deceptive and misleading. These decisions about water turbocharges distrust between the government and other stakeholders”
“The previous Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan, already allocated too much water, and this new plan seeks to extract an extra 20 billion litres of groundwater every year, accelerating water mining and leading to the damage and destruction of a 100 kilometre stretch of groundwater dependent habitat”
“Today’s announcement on top of the extreme Territory Coordinator proposal, highlights the disdain for stakeholders across the Northern Territory that care for environmental, cultural and social values, while also bulldozing through economic development tied to gas, cotton and mining above all other interests”
Media comment: Alex Vaughan - 0427573178