Stop Big Cotton's Territory Takeover- Environment Centre NT

We have a big chance to defend the Territory’s nature from the cotton industry.

Remember the Murray Darling disaster? Now, Big Cotton wants to copy-paste the same terrible model into the Territory.

The only problem is – Cotton. Kills. Rivers. It’s a thirsty crop that sucks up huge amounts of water, wrecks delicate ecosystems and destroys habitats that countless species rely on.

But it's not too late to stop Big Cotton's Territory Takeover.

Sweetwater application

AAM Investment Group has referred their plans for a massive cotton development in the Territory’s West –the Ord 3 development at Sweetwater Station - to the Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority (NTEPA) for assessment.

This follows the project already being declared a ‘controlled action’ under our national environment laws, meaning it requires the highest level of federal environmental assessment.

Now, at a Territory level, the NT EPA must assess the project. This is our chance to demand rigorous scrutiny and protection of rivers, species and cultural heritage.

Take action today

Sign and send our email below to NTEPA Chair Paul Vogel and Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt or write your own submission using our submission writing guide.

If you do not want your details published, state this clearly in your submission.

Submissions close on 24 September 2025.

Note: submissions may be publicly published by the NTEPA.

cotton epa sweetwater water

Dear Mr Vogel, 
Re: Sweetwater Agricultural Development – Stage 1  
I am writing to urge you to consider the impacts of the Sweetwater Agricultural Development, historically known as Ord 3, which could see the Ord River irrigation scheme expanded across the Territory border to irrigate crops.   
It is the first land clearing application in the Territory’s history to be considered under Australia’s national environment laws, with Minister for the Environment Murray Watt, deeming the project a Controlled Action due to potential significant impacts to threatened and migratory species, and internationally important wetlands. 
This project could damage ecological and biological diversity, harm threatened species, alter water flows, and impact important cultural heritage. 
Spirit Hills Station is part of a living, breathing ecosystem that includes Ramsar-listed wetlands and floodplains – areas recognized as internationally significant for their unique environmental values and biodiversity. The area is also a site of exceptional cultural significance. 
Threatened species including the freshwater sawfish, green sawfish, Gouldian finch, ghost bat, Merten’s water monitor, northern blue-tongued skink and white-bellied sea eagle are all known to be present within the area. 
Freshwater sawfish are now facing extinction in Australian waters due to over extraction of water, land-clearing and fishing practices.  
Similarly, Gouldian finches are facing extinction due to habitat loss and degradation. This proposal will add yet another burden to species already struggling to survive. 
The referral reveals plans to construct a new 10 billion litre dam (equivalent to 4000 Olympic swimming pools) using flows from the pristine Keep River, downstream of the magnificent <a href="https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/keep-river-national-park">Keep River National Park</a>.   
This is just the beginning of plans to massively expand the cotton industry in the Territory, which could see up to 67,500 hectares under development.  
The cotton industry wants to take advantage of the Territory’s free water, and we fear the dam rush is just beginning.  
This large-scale development will intensify existing environmental pressures and further erode the resilience of ecosystems already under stress.  
The impacts extend beyond this proposal alone. They must be understood in the context of cumulative pressures from the Sweetwater Agricultural Development Stages 1–3, other existing developments in the Keep River catchment, and the compounding effects of climate change. 
Please consider the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of this development on cultural heritage, the Northern Territory's irreplaceable ecosystems and the unique species that depend on them. 
Yours sincerely,

I would like to BCC myself