Landclearing

Until recently temperate and sub-tropical woodlands have been the main ecosystems targeted, particularly in the southern states and Queensland. However, northern Australian woodlands are now facing rapidly increasing clearing and associated problems with parts of the agricultural sector targeting Northern Australia for 'greenfields development opportunities'.

Several massive schemes are in the early stages of development, while existing schemes are being expanded. The long term risk is that the Top End and the Kimberley will repeat the overclearing and irrigation problems of southern Australia, with consequent massive loss of biodiversity and soil and water degradation.

One area being targeted for such development is the Ord River region. Situated near Kununurra, the Ord River has a catchment which spans the NT and WA borders. The catchment falls predominantly within the Victoria-Bonaparte bioregion and is the traditional land of the Miriuwung and Gajerrong people.

The Ord has a history of exploitation, since the 1870s there has been pastoral interest in the region with the first herds of cattle arriving in the early 1880s. Significant land degradation occurred in the Ord Catchment as a result of overstocking. Ord Stage 1 began in the early 1960s, and was the first step of a long-term 'vision' for the agricultural development of the area. The Diversion Dam was completed in 1963, however the subsequent construction of the Ord River Dam further up the Ord River created Lake Argyle. Lake Argyle is now the biggest permanent freshwater lake in Australia.

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Fourteen thousand hectares were cleared and levelled for agriculture, mainly for cotton although research failed to find suitably viable crops for the area. The cotton industry had big hopes for the region in the late 1960s and early 1970s but the industry collapsed in the mid 70s. The collapse was due to several bad seasons of intensive insect attack from the Heliothis moth and other species, the subsequent high level use of pesticides which were very costly, the end of the Commonwealth cotton bounty program which provided subsidies to growers, and extremely high freight costs.

It is likely that traces of DDT, dieldren and other toxic chemicals remain in the region. Recently the cotton industry has made a return to the region establishing trial crops of genetically modified cotton, over the last few years with variable success.

One of the major criticisms of Ord Stage 1 has been the complete lack of analysis of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project. The irrigation channels in some parts of the area are filled with contaminated runoff. Signs warn residents and tourists not to fish or swim in the channels as they pose a health risk, yet the runoff from the paddocks seeps into the groundwater and has breached irrigation channels and flowed into the Ord river.

The area also has a significant weed problem, both Gamba and Mission grass, escapees from cattle pasture 'improvement' are rife. It is impossible to estimate the full scale of the impacts of the developments in the area. No baseline data from before the damming of the Ord exists. It appears the same mistake is about to made again, as plans to develop Ord Stage 2 start to gain momentum.

Ord Stage 2 will comprise an area of approximately 64,000 hectares of irrigated agricultural land, about one third of which is within the NT. The area has been under pastoral lease until now and is subject to various Native Title claims by the Miriuwung and Gajerrong people. This area is divided into three sections known as: M2, Green Swamp and Mantinea Flats. There are three companies which hold the leases to these sections.

The co-proponents for M2 are Wesfarmers Ltf and Marubeni Corporation. They want to clear 33,500 hectares of land for agricultural production and irrigation channels, irrigating the area with water from Lake Argyle. The proposed project area spans the NT and WA borders north-east of Kununurra. About 27,000 hectares of the development would be for sugarcane production (initially) and 3,500 hectares would be sold to independent farmers to grow other crops.

On the face of it, the M2 development involves nearly a tripling of the amount of land available for agriculture in the region, by clearing and flattening and irrigating farms via a system of channels. However on another level the project represents a very deliberate effort to 'open up new country' for more intensive use, ie. the project is a very large real estate development. This has major implications for Native Title- the Mirauwung/Gajerrong Traditonal Owners have been involved in court cases over the past couple of years to determine their Native Title rights to areas in Keep River National Park and around Kununurra.

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In 2000 the M2 development was assessed by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). ECNT made a submission to this process and raised a number of concerns relating to the project. Some of these follow and would apply to any development proposals in the Ord region:

In August 2000 the West Australian Environment Protection Authority advised the Minister for Environment and Heritage to approve the clearing of 33,500 hectares of woodlands for the M2 project to proceed. The EPA made this recommendation in the same week that the Commonwealth announced a $500 million assistance package for Queensland cane farmers. The global sugar market is saturated- it does not make sense to approve the destruction of native vegetation to plant a barely marginal crop. ECNT appealed the EPA's advice - our appeal is yet to be heard.

In 2001 the future of the Ord Stage 2 (M2) project is unclear.

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A further recommendation from the EPA to the Minister was made in June 2001. The Minister was advised to approve the project on the basis that the impacts were acceptable and could be satisfactorily managed by the proponents. ECNT lodged another appeal about this recommendation - our key concerns include:

Our second appeal is also yet to be determined. The project still lacks some key approvals while economically the project looks increasingly unviable.

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