Join us for our Water Wars webinar with Professor Matthew Currell, Professor Sue Jackson, and Professor Erin O’Donnell
WHEN
Tuesday 5th December 2023
12:30PM – 1:30PM Darwin
2:00PM – 3:00PM Sydney
WHERE
RSVP to receive online meeting link via email
BACKGROUND
The Georgina Wiso Water Allocation Plan is the largest single water allocation in the NT’s history, and allocates 1.68 trillion litres of water (210 billion litres of water per year over 8 years) to industry from an aquifer that keeps the Roper and Daly Rivers flowing. The plan paves the way for development and expansion of fracking and cotton farming in the region.
The controversial draft plan was heavily criticised when released for public comment in late 2022, with 18 water experts from across the nation extraordinarily writing to the Chief Minister to ask her to stop the plan’s declaration and put a moratorium on water licences. These experts included Professor Sue Jackson, Professor Barry Hart, Professor Quentin Grafton, Professor Marcia Langton, Professor Richard Kingsford, and Professor Anne Poelina.
A 2022 report by Professor Matthew Currell and Dr Christopher Ndehedehe stated that the draft Georgina Wiso Water Allocation Plan could endanger the NT’s iconic rivers, springs, aquifers and billabongs, as well as numerous sacred sites.
In addition, the government’s own scientific advice war
ned that significant allocations from the aquifer could cause the iconic Roper River to stop flowing by changing the direction of flow of the aquifer that discharges into it. Since submissions closed in late December 2022, there has been no formal response from the government to these concerns. The water allocation plan was not developed by water advisory committees in accordance with usual NT Government practice, and the National Water Initiative. It incorporates environmental baseline studies which were recently found to have “critical knowledge and data gaps” by Professor Matthew Currell.
Join us, as we learn more about the threats posed to water in the NT, and the opportunities we have to do something about it.