BThe Northern Territory’s water management is in crisis. Four Corners has uncovered massive industrial water appropriation, enabled by the Territory government. A comprehensive federal inquiry into the Northern Territory’s water management is needed to prevent environmental disaster. For some time, water scientists, Indigenous people, recreational fishers and environmental groups have been warning of a reckless approach to water regulation that is putting the Territory’s remarkable rivers, springs and wetlands at risk.

But not even the upcoming election this weekend can dampen the Northern Territory government’s commitment to policies that encourage unsustainable practices, particularly groundwater extraction.

The Lawler government has announced it will revise water legislation to bring it into line with national standards, but it continues to defend a licensing system that allows speculation and water hoarding, often at the expense of indigenous communities’ water rights. In several high-profile cases, irrigation companies have been granted huge licenses for free, despite credible warnings of significant environmental impacts.

The controversy centres on the groundwater that supplies the emerald waters of the Mataranka Springs tourist attraction and the Roper River, considered one of Australia’s best fishing spots. Northern Territory Water Minister Kate Worden is considering a draft water allocation plan that would double the amount of groundwater that can be extracted to 62.4 gigalitres per year. That plan ignores warning signs of the damaging consequences of such an increase in permitted extraction as occurred in the same area a decade ago. These include evidence of a drop in dry season groundwater levels near the Mataranka thermal springs.

Independent scientists were particularly critical of the draft plan when it was released in February, citing concerns that important science and data had been misrepresented or omitted from documents and consultations. Traditional owners from the region’s many language groups have observed unseasonal changes in wetlands and fear that the Roper River or other water bodies could dry up if groundwater flows are diverted. Compelling scientific evidence that the plan could lead to significant declines in groundwater levels and deterioration of the region’s springs, many of which are sacred sites, led to calls for a revision of the plan, including from the Northern Land Council, the representative body for traditional owners.

Last year, the Beetaloo Basin, with its rich gas reserves, took centre stage. A water allocation plan for the same large regional aquifer that supplies the Roper and Daly rivers further north was fast-tracked to meet industry needs. Georgina Wiso’s water allocation plan will enable the largest water allocation in the Northern Territory’s history – 14 times the current use of groundwater. The views and values ​​of local communities, particularly traditional owners, were marginalised in a process that represents a new low point in Australian water planning. The Northern Land Council described the draft plan as “blatantly disrespectful” and said there had been “no genuine consultation with traditional owners” in the development process.

Eighteen Australian water specialists from universities across the country, including myself, appealed directly to the Prime Minister to halt licensing until there was a solid scientific evidence base and the Northern Territory could demonstrate that it was complying with national water policy. Our calls for reform fell on deaf ears. Most recently, in May this year, the Northern Territory was described as a jurisdiction that was “going backwards” in an assessment of progress in implementing national water reform by the Productivity Commission.

Water management in the region requires fundamental and profound reform, taking into account the national importance of the country’s socio-hydrological systems.

It was the federal government that first implemented historic reforms designed to restore the health of the Murray-Darling Basin. This crisis forced the federal government to take a stronger role in water management and to shoulder the costs. National environmental laws also require the federal government to protect the many endangered and threatened species that rely on the territory’s waters, such as sawfish and turtle species. No less important are the federal government’s obligations to Aboriginal land rights, including Indigenous cultural heritage.

The Territory’s Indigenous peoples have their own rich and complex institutions for water tenure and governance. Their extensive knowledge of ancient networks of interconnected ground and surface water flows, their long history of sustainable management and their ethic of caring for the land all point to the benefits of truly shared management of river basins. As it examines and responds to the Territory’s water crisis, the federal government must empower and resource traditional owners to help shape new models for protecting river health and ensuring sustainable and equitable access to water.