STOPPING COTTON IN THE WEST KIMBERLEY
Environs Kimberley was formed in opposition to a proposal to build a series of dams on the Fitzroy River and establish a cotton industry in the west Kimberley. We were active in our opposition throughout the tendering process, which we considered fatally flawed. Tenders for the use of surface water for irrigated agriculture in the west Kimberley were sought by the State Government in 1997, without community consultation, the criteria tailored closely to the needs of Western Agricultural Industries. Public meetings held by WAI to promote their proposal were conducted under the auspices of the Office of Major Projects located within the then Department of Resources Development (now the Department of Industry and Resources) even before the successful tenderer had been selected. Following the selection of WAI and the signing of the initial Memorandum of Understanding between WAI and the State Government, we have continued to oppose irrigated agriculture in the west Kimberley.
During the past half a century or more, several ideas to establish irrigated, monoculture crops in the west Kimberley have fallen by the wayside. The failure of the Camballin venture, due primarily to pest pressures, proves how unsuitable this type of land use is for the region. No comprehensive studies into the social, cultural, economic and environmental implications of the proposal to grow cotton in the district have yet been undertaken.
EK believes that broadscale irrigated agriculture is unsuited to the west Kimberley and would have serious adverse impacts on the health and biodiversity of the pindan woodlands and nearby coastal region through: landclearing; excessive water extraction; replacing native bush with a monoculture; the spraying and leaching of numerous pesticides; and the possible proliferation of genetically modified organisms. It would encroach on country valued highly by the Karajarri traditional owners and irreversibly change the nature and culture of the region. Throughout the campaign, we have attempted to inform and engage the public through the media and events such as the very successful ‘Cotton on Trial’ public forum held at the Broome Courthouse, October 2001. The cotton proposal, which requires the privatization of land and almost the whole of the area’s groundwater resources, originally included a scheme to dam the Fitzroy River and two of its tributaries and to channel the water south to irrigate the cotton fields. The open-cut, clay-lined channel would be approximately 600 kilometres long, with a road on either side, and would bisect the West Kimberley. Waste through evaporation would be enormous.
SAVE THE FITZROY RIVER!
Hand in hand with the cotton campaign went our campaign to save the Fitzroy River. The proponents of the cotton industry are seeking rights to approximately 95% of the available groundwater in the La Grange sub-basin south of Broome, in order to establish a cotton crop. No further large supply of water will be available for any future enterprises in the catchment. As the crop expands, the cotton producers will require more water for irrigation, and propose to take this from the Fitzroy River. The original proposal included up to three dams: one on the Fitzroy River at the magnificent Dimond Gorge, home to remnant population of endangered species and two more on the Fitzroy’s tributaries, at Leopold and Margaret River Gorges. The water would be used to irrigate up to 225,000 hectares of land for cotton farming. The money to finance the dams would come from large corporations, and control of the river and would fall into their hands.
OUR CAMPAIGN
Environs Kimberley initiated a massive campaign against the damming of the Fitzroy River. In alliance with the Australian Conservation Foundation, Conservation Council of Western Australia and the traditional owners of the land that would be affected by the proposal, we brought the plan to the attention of the Australian public. EK designed and produced bumper stickers, T-shirts and a postcard. The card, funded by ACF, was used in a postcard petition campaign. We also made numerous media statements and appearances. We worked with broadcasters and film-makers, including John Hughes and Donna Cameron, producers of the documentary ‘River of Dreams’. We held and addressed public meetings. We contributed to articles, including a big feature by ACF in Habitat magazine. We joined the Water and Rivers Commission’s La Grange Groundwater Committee, a local advisory group which takes part in the water allocation process. We became an associate member of Bandaralngarri, an alliance made up of the different traditional owner groups of the Fitzroy River country. We met the proponents. We lobbied and held meetings with politicians and put our point of view as forcefully as we could.
CAMPAIGN SUCCESS! BUT IS THE FITZROY SAFE?
As a result of the campaigners’ combined efforts, the proponents publicly withdrew their proposal to dam the Fitzroy River. Many people therefore believe that the Fitzroy is now safe. However, the proponents have made it clear that they still need the Fitzroy’s water. They intend to collect it either through a series of barrages (smaller dams) and/or through recharge of the aquifer. The engineering works required for either of these proposals has not yet been made public. However the government ratified the amended plan when they signed a variation to the MOU in 2000. In addition to these plans by WAI, the Federal Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government, our own Wilson Tuckey, also has plans for dams. At an international Hydrogen Power conference held in Broome in May 2003, he mentioned a possible dam on the Margaret River as one component in a series of hydro-electricity plants through which to generate the power to produce hydrogen, the fuel of the future.
Campaign success!
DON’T BE FOOLED. THE FITZROY RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES STILL NEED OUR PROTECTION!
THE COTTON CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
While the damming of the Fitzroy River has been taken off the agenda – for now – WAI continues to develop and promote its plan to grow genetically engineered cotton in the west Kimberley. The company is assisted by the WA Department of Agriculture, which holds a licence to grow cotton trial crops on Shamrock Station during the 2003 growing season. EK is continuing to campaign against the proposal. We have joined forces with other environment groups in northern Australia who are similarly concerned about the push north by cotton companies who have run out of both land and water in southern Australia. We are currently waiting to hear whether the WA Government is going to grant yet another extension of the MOU with WAI, or whether they will put an end to this highly speculative proposal and start real consultative planning for the natural resources of this unique and wonderful region.