The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory has ordered the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) to pay 35% of Fortune Agribusiness' costs in proceedings that challenged the grant of a groundwater extraction licence at Singleton Station on Kaytetye Country near the remote community of Ali Curung. ALEC’s request for a public interest cost order was denied.
ALEC’s case challenged one of Australia’s largest groundwater licences at Singleton Station, 380 kilometres north of Mparntwe Alice Springs. The judicial review proceedings challenged the Minister’s 2021 decision to grant the 30 year license to Melbourne based company Fortune Agribusiness. ALEC filed legal proceedings in February 2022 and the case was heard in September 2022. Although a decision was handed down in January 2024 dismissing ALEC’s case, a decision on costs was not made until this week.
In handing down the costs decision, Justice Barr acknowledged that ALEC was an independent not-for-profit environmental organisation acting in the public interest, with no commercial stake in the outcome, and that its litigation was conducted appropriately.
See the full decision here
Alex Vaughan, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Arid Lands Environment Centre
“This decision will not stop ALEC campaigning against one of Australia’s largest groundwater licences at Singleton
“Singleton is an oasis in the desert, a shallow groundwater place that showcases the colour and life of the Barkly: giant ghost gums, water lillies and coolibah woodlands filled with countless birds”
“The greedy groundwater grab threatens to damage and destroy up to 60 kilometres of groundwater dependent habitat and lower the groundwater table by up to 50 metres. 144 bores will suck up to 1 trillion litres of groundwater over 30 years - two times all the water in Sydney Harbour for free”
“Singleton is everything that is wrong with development in the NT, water is given away for free, land is sold to the largest and most destructive projects and nearby communities and environments bear the cost ”.
“Our court case highlights that the NT has some of the most backward water laws in the country”
Erika Hamilton, Executive Director, Arid Lands Environment Centre
“This decision is another blow to ALEC, a small environmental charity that fights for its community in the arid lands.”
“ALEC experienced a similar blow in February 2025, when we lost our NT Government funding. We were fortunate enough to receive significant community support and commitment to be able to keep our doors open through that crisis.”
“We have spent time developing relationships with similar organisations and grant makers to help ensure our financial stability into the future. This gives us assurance that we can keep our doors open into the next financial year and keep campaigning on this issue.”
For media enquiries, please contact - Alex Vaughan, 0427 573 178
Background to ALEC’s Supreme Court challenge
ALEC launched judicial review proceedings in the NT Supreme Court in January 2022 to challenge the decision by the Northern Territory Government in November 2021 to re-grant a groundwater licence to Fortune Agribusiness. The Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation (MAC), which represents Traditional Owners from the Singleton Station area, also challenged the licence.
Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, ALEC's case focused on whether the Minister's decision complied with the Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan (WAP), whether key matters were improperly deferred by conditions precedent, and whether the decision was legally unreasonable. Although all three grounds were ultimately unsuccessful, the Court accepted that the proceedings were brought by a bona fide public interest litigant seeking to protect the environment and groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Western Davenport region.
The Court rejected ALEC's request to delay any costs order pending the outcome of related High Court proceedings brought by Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation. Justice Barr held that ALEC should be treated as an unsuccessful plaintiff and that Fortune was entitled to partial compensation for the costs it incurred.
What the court found
On 31 January 2024, the Court handed down its decision. Both ALEC and Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation were unsuccessful on all grounds.
Under the National Water Initiative, water plans across Australia are meant to be legally binding and enforceable. This decision revealed that in the Northern Territory, that is not the case. Water plans here only need to be "taken into account" when licence decisions are made.
This is a significant gap in water governance that leaves people and the environment exposed.
Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation has taken the decision to the High Court, and that case continues. Meanwhile, the NT EPA has granted Fortune Agribusiness a two-year extension with no change to the terms of reference with their draft Environmental Impact Statement not due until October 2028, and no real public indication as to why an extension is needed.
What Is still at risk
The Singleton Horticulture Project is proposed in a semi-arid, water-scarce environment. The Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2021–22 states that groundwater recharge in the region is "highly episodic": rare peak rainfall years contribute disproportionately to recharge, while in a typical year minimal recharge occurs with just three significant recharge events recorded in the last 100 years. CSIRO research corroborates this, finding that recharge in central Australia's arid zone occurs only during extreme rainfall events exceeding 150–200 mm.
The stakes for the region's environment and cultural heritage are stark. Fortune Agribusiness' own modelling predicts the water table could be lowered by up to 50 metres in parts of the aquifer. Significantly, up to 40 groundwater dependent sacred sites may be at risk.
Despite the costs decision, ALEC remains firmly committed to stopping the Singleton Groundwater Grab. This case has exposed a serious weakness in the Northern Territory's water governance, one that allows water allocation plans to be sidelined rather than enforced, leaving communities and the environment vulnerable. ALEC will continue to advocate for water laws that are genuinely binding, transparent and enforceable, and stands alongside Traditional Owners and the Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation as they pursue their case in the High Court. The fight to protect the precious and finite groundwater of Central Australia is far from over.