New Northern Australia Taskforce urged to reject extreme development plans

The Wilderness Society Inc
Media Release
26 September 2008

The Wilderness Society today called on the new Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce, launched today in Broome by the Commonwealth Government, to reject outright foolhardy schemes to move agriculture and irrigation into northern Australia.

The Wilderness Society said that the new taskforce, which now includes respected environmentalists, should chart a truly sustainable course for future development in northern Australia and reject the extreme proposals to turn the fragile environment of northern Australia into ‘Asia’s foodbowl.’

Lyndon Schneiders, Northern Australia Campaign Manager for The Wilderness Society, said, “We welcome the changes to the membership of the Northern Australia Taskforce and congratulate Dr Stuart Blanch and Dr Rosemary Hill on their appointment to the taskforce. They will bring considerable expertise to the Taskforce.”

“However we are calling on the new Taskforce to explicitly rule out the extreme proposals that were considered previously and championed by its former chair, Senator Bill Heffernan. In particular, the Taskforce should reject plans to dam the great northern rivers, including the mighty Fitzroy River in the Kimberley, and should rule out large scale landclearing operations. Australia does not need, and cannot afford, more expensive and environmentally destructive white elephants like the Ord River Irrigation scheme.”

“We hope instead that the new Taskforce will concentrate upon identifying how to support truly sustainable activities that don’t require land scale destruction of the natural environment, including caring for country programs and sustainable tourism, and to identify opportunities for northern Australia to play an important role in the emerging carbon economy”, he concluded.