The beautiful Barron River is central to the ecology that has sustained First Nations peoples for a thousand generations. Now it flows through some of the most intensively farmed land in the country cutting through the World Heritage rainforest and then its delta in the middle of Cairns and out to the Great Barrier Reef. But the Barron suffers the impacts of poisons from agriculture and forestry with inadequate development threatening many of its water courses.
• More that 1000 chemicals are registered for bananas alone
• Aerial and ground spraying of pine plantations includes dangerous chemicals such as atrazine, Roundup and Starane
• Regulations for developments still favour carving up land into small quarter acre blocks without regard to the special positioning of Kuranda next to the Wet Tropics.
• Corridor issues for wildlife do not consider pesticide drift and aerial spraying
• Bores in Koah appear to have heavy metals carcinogens such as Arsenic yet Council continues to subdivide on the basis of bores providing drinking water
We seek a Barron River ecosystem based on sustainable, regenerative agriculture which poses no risk of harm from poison and agricultural soils to people, the environment or the Reef.
Poisons in the Barron?
• Our right to clean water for drinking is a social justice issue.
• We think it’s crazy to drink intensive agricultural run off.
• What do you think?
• We just don’t know!
• What you can do: TAKE ACTION – Write NOW to Mayor Gilmore about Pollutants in the Barron.