This week we’re heading to the Top End, where mismanagement of an expanding irrigation industry in the NT hit the national spotlight when ABC 4 Corner published “Water Grab” last month. The ABC 4 Corners program revealed the NT’s lax environmental laws, and failures to adequately regulate a burgeoning irrigation industry in the NT. The program exposed a territory government that is single-mindedly focused on economic development from large-scale irrigation and gas extraction, while recent changes to land use are already impacting the water quality of some groundwater sources, like at Mataranka, where freshwater springs are crucial sources of water for the Roper River, which relies on groundwater flows during the dry season, and are highly sacred sites for Mangarrayi people.

Following the 4 corners investigation, a delegation of environmental groups was joined by Mangarrayi Traditional Owners in Canberra to raise the alarm of these proposed developments with the federal government. The delegation hoped the Federal government would intervene on behalf of the concerned community and act to protect some of Australia’s last wild rivers.

In this episode Megan speaks to Kirsty Howey, the executive director of the Environment Centre NT about the delegation to Canberra, who they met with, the goals of this trip, and the state of play for water management in the territory.