The Mighty Fitzroy River
The Australian Conservation Foundation through our Northern Australia Program has joined regional conservation group Environs Kimberley to protect one of the best rivers in the Kimberley from environmental threat.
In March 2007, the Kimberley Freshwater Campaign was officially launched in Fitzroy Crossing by Dr Gary Scott.
The Fitzroy River is the mightiest river in the Kimberley in terms of catchment area, length and annual flow. It is a river of high environmental and cultural significant to the people of the west Kimberley.
Dr Scott hopes to secure the long-term protection of the Fitzroy River by working with Aboriginal Traditional Owners along the river by developing a ‘cross-cultural legal framework’ that incorporates both Indigenous and non-Indigenous values. Dr Scott’s Kimberley Freshwater Campaigner position is funded by the Northern Australia Program of ACF and hosted by Environs Kimberley in Broome.
Fight to Save the Fitzroy
The Fitzroy River has long been targeted by developers keen to exploit its water. Over the last 10 years developments proposals have included plans to establish a broad scale irrigated cotton industry in the west Kimberley; and more recently, plans for a 2,000km canal to pipe water to Perth.
An effort to halt a broad scale genetically modified cotton industry in the West Kimberley in 1996 was the first collaboration between ACF and Environs Kimberley. Cotton producers were seeking three dams on the Fitzroy River to supply the vast amounts of water needed to grow cotton.
One of the proposed sites for a dam was the spectacular Dimond Gorge. When the proposal for a series of dams on the Fitzroy River did not progress, proponents of the genetically modified cotton industry sought to tap into approximately 95% of the available groundwater in the La Grange sub-basin south of Broome.
Environs Kimberley initiated a campaign, supported by ACF, against the damming of the Fitzroy River and used public events, media statements, stickers, postcards, t-shirts, feature articles as well as lobbying politicians to get the message to the public about what could happen to this iconic river if proposals to dam and grow genetically modified cotton went ahead. To the relief of ACF, Environs Kimberley and Aboriginal Traditional Owners within the Fitzroy Canning Basin, the proposals were eventually withdrawn.
Kimberley Appropriate Economies Roundtable
A more recent challenge has been the persistent calls to pipe Kimberley water south to the drought afflicted Perth region via 2,000km canal. In 2005 as ACF, Environs Kimberley and the Kimberley Land Council were hosting the Kimberley Appropriate Economies Roundtable in Fitzroy Crossing a review was being undertaken by the WA Government into whether it was environmentally and economically feasible to divert water south to Perth via 2,000km pipeline or canal. This plan was a major topic of discussion during the Roundtable.
Fortunately this ludicrous proposal was rejected in October 2006 for being too expensive by an independent review commissioned by former Western Australia Premier Geoff Gallop. The review looked at different proposals to transport water south including a canal or large tanker ships.
However, so concerned were people – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal – about this proposal that the long term protection of the Fitzroy River was given priority in the Roundtable Forum Proceedings Principles and Actions.
“The Fitzroy River, ground-waters and conservation areas are protected by a legal framework” ... Principle #11
Kimberley Land Council Executive Director Wayne Bergmann, speaking on behalf of Kimberley Aboriginal people at the opening of the Roundtable –spoke of the significance that the river has for Aboriginal people - especially those in the Fitzroy – Canning Basin. Due to long term concern for the Fitzroy River and Traditional Owner support and interest in long term protection and management, ACF committed to funding a Kimberley Freshwater Campaigner to develop a cross cultural legal framework.
Cross Cultural Legal Framework
The key outcome of the Freshwater Campaign will be a framework for the ‘cross cultural’ protection of the Fitzroy River. Such as framework aims to incorporate both western legal and traditional Aboriginal laws stipulating governance arrangements and responsibilities to protect and manage the river. The governance structure would recognise and support the relationship Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region maintain with the Fitzroy River as well as respecting the responsibility of Aboriginal people to ‘care for country’ and enabling active management of the area by Traditional Owners.
Consultation with Traditional Owners and other residents (including non-Aboriginal pastoralists) will enable us to collect their thoughts regarding the range of possible legal conservation options that could be implemented by the WA and/or the Commonwealth Governments including the potential for new legislation to protect and manage ‘high conservation value rivers’ and wetlands. People will also be asked to identify development activities they consider to be acceptable or not including dams, land clearing, pastoral activity, water extraction etc.
ACF and Environs Kimberley aim to have a draft framework ready for discussion with policy makers in 2008.
Northern Taskforce
In January 2007 as part of Prime Minister John Howard’s plan to address the water crisis affecting southern Australia – in particular the Murray-Darling Basin – the rivers of northern Australia have been earmarked for agricultural development. This potentially, has major ramifications for the Fitzroy River.
Chaired by Senator Bill Heffernan, the Northern Taskforce is hoping to identify areas right across northern Australia that will form part of a new ‘agricultural frontier’. ACF has warned against such thinking saying rivers such as the Fitzroy River need to be utilised in a way that does not degrade its natural and cultural values and that broad scale land clearing and associated water extraction – the source of the problems in the Murray Darling Basin – should not be repeated in the north.
Find out more about the Northern Australia Taskforce.
The mighty Fitzroy River cuts it way through ancient rock at Geike Gorge, Kimberley