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Daly River

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Northern Territory Government Plans

» Save the Daly » NT Government Plans » Under Threat » More Information

Scrap the Proposals
The Northern Territory Government has made a commitment to prepare an Integrated Land Use Plan for the Daly Basin through community consultation. The Government has committed to ecologically sustainable development in the Daly Basin underpinned by the best available science.

Click on map to enlarge

The Daly Region can be developed without clearing large areas of land and destroying the environment. Unfortunately the Daly River is still a priority region for large-scale irrigated agriculture and treeclearing.

Over 400 000 hectares covering 3 large pastoral properties has been identified for subdivision into intensive "mixed farms". Water will be pumped directly from the Daly River and from underground aquifers that feed the river to irrigate crops such as hay, mangoes and peanuts. Vast forests and woodlands will also be bulldozed for grazing cattle.

Large Scale Agriculture Proposals

The destruction has already started. In 2001 the Northern Territory Government approved the first carve up with the subdivision of 30 000 hectares at Stray Creek into 7 blocks (see above map). Each new block was issued a FREE groundwater licences of 2.5 billion litres every year. Then the NT Government issued over 7,300 hectares of treeclearing permits.

The NT Government has a policy to allocate 20% of the river flows from the Daly River and 20% of the groundwater that feeds the river - every year. However, the latest research on environmental flows in the dry season recommends a maximum of 8%. (Rea et al 2003)

In November 2003 the Northern Territory Government announced a short-term moratorium on treeclearing and new agricultural subdivisions. They also announced that no dams would be built on the Daly River. This is a step in the right direction for the Daly River - but it does not go far enough.

To protect the Daly River the Northern Territory Government must:

»	Rule out further large-scale treeclearing in the Daly River region - already 200 000 hectares has been cleared.
»	Immediately stop handing out new licences to pump water from the river and from groundwater supplies that feed the river.
»	Support ecologically sustainable rural industries in the Daly that do not result in large-scale treeclearing and over pumping of water for irrigation.

MORE INFORMATION

»	For more information contact: Chalres Roche - Freshwater Campaigner The Environment Centre NT PO Box 2120 Darwin NT 0801 Phone: 08 8941 7439 or 08 8981 1984 Email: ecntdaly@iinet.net.au
»	PDF Downloads:
	Need Water Too! (5 August 2003) John Harrison, Executive Officer Amateur Fishermen's Association of the Northern Territory Inc. Murray, Eastern and Trout cod in danger of extinction with the Murray cod just recently listed as vulnerable. Why? To read the full article click here
	Top End's Fragile Balance on Brink (September 15 2003) David Hancock, The Age Daly River under threat from broadscale tree clearing and large irrigation schemes, according to Aboriginal and environmental groups. To read the full article click here
	Daly River Under Threat ( 6 August 2003) Northern Land Council Aboriginal landowners concerned that a NT Government decision to allow the clearing of 7,000 hectares of land in the Upper Daly region will spell disaster on a broad scale.To read the full article click here
	Daly consultations welcome, but more time needed ( 21 November 2003) Northern Land Council Traditional owners in the Douglas/Daly Region have welcomed Chief Minister Clare Martin's intervention in the debate over plans to develop the region, but remain concerned over the short timeframe allotted for the development of a draft Integrated Regional Land Use Plan.To read the full article click here
»	Useful Links:
	Northern Land Council
»	See also: Land Clearing & Freshwater Media Releases

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The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory
3/98 Woods St, Darwin » Postal Address: GPO Box 2120, Darwin 0801 NT
Phone: 08 8981 1984 » Fax: 08 8941 0387 » E-mail: admin@ecnt.org