Environment Centre NT launches legal action against government’s Mataranka water plan

An NT environment group has launched legal action against a water plan for the massive underground aquifer that discharges into Mataranka’s iconic Bitter Springs and the Roper River.

The 10-year plan was approved by the NT government in December and allows for up to 62,000 ML/year to be extracted from the Tindal Limestone Aquifer, which is roughly double the amount that could previously be extracted.

Environment Centre NT director Kirsty Howey said the group would argue Water Minister Josh Burgoyne didn’t follow the law when declaring the plan.

“We say that that decision was infected by legal error,” she said.

The group, which will be represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, will argue the decision did not allocate enough water for the environment and was made without all the relevant facts.

Environment Centre NT wants the NT Supreme Court to review the plan and rule it invalid.

Mr Burgoyne said he would not comment as the matter was before the court.

When the plan was declared, Mr Burgoyne said the plan’s extraction allowances were sustainable and based on rigorous science.

Existing water licences would not be affected if the plan was overturned, but that could create uncertainty for new licence applications.

Two applications are currently awaiting final decisions.

Last year, Larrimah Farms applied for what would be the largest water licence in the management area — 10,000 ML/year over 10 years to grow cotton, hay, melons and mangoes.

In February this year, the NT Land Development Corporation also gave notice it was applying for a relatively small increase to an existing water licence near Mataranka to expand its production of mangoes.

NT Farmers calls action ‘economic’ sabotage

Peak body for territory crop growers, NT Farmers, said the legal challenge was a blow to the industry and would put investments at risk.

NT Farmers chief executive Greg Troughton said he was “completely unsurprised, and yet at the same time exasperated”.

“This is absolutely economic saboteurism,” he said.

Mr Troughton believed the plan was “incredibly environmentally-friendly”.

The plan did not increase water allocation in north or south Mataranka but released a further 35,000ML/year for potential water licensees near the remote town of Larrimah.

While Mr Troughton said while the caps in the northern part of the zone were a tough pill to swallow for some farmers, the plan at least provided certainty for investors.

“Now it’s all up in the air, whilst [the court action] is going on,” he said.

“Having these groups doing what they’re doing is completely irresponsible.”

Indigenous traditional owners, backed by the powerful Northern Land Council, have previously expressed their concerns about the planned rate of extraction.

They say the waterways fed by the aquifer have cultural significance and are places they continue to hunt, gather and fish.