The Cape York Peninsula conservation debate

Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland is one of the largest intact and most diverse landscapes left on Earth. It is a land rich in nature and culture, where Indigenous peoples’ connections to their Country are active and strong. A worldwide study by Conservation International to identity the Earth’s last remaining wilderness areas lists Cape York Peninsula as one of “wildest tropical environments left on the planet.”

Healthy savanna country typical of the Cape. Photo: Glenn Walker

Cape York Peninsula is under threat by strip mining, destructive large-scale agricultural projects, inappropriate fire regimes and feral animals and weeds. As a result, the future protection and management of the region is part of an ongoing national debate. Recently, the debate has focused on strident and often ill-informed criticism of conservation initiatives led by advocates of large-scale industrial development in Northern Australia – prominent amongst them are Mr Noel Pearson and Senator Bill Heffernan, both members of the then Howard Government’s Northern Australia Development Taskforce.

Wild Rivers

Cape York Peninsula’s river systems are some of the healthiest and most spectacular remaining on the planet. Driven by the enormous economic and environmental problems of the Murray-Darling Basin and the need to protect and manage water resources and river basins long into the future, the Queensland Government introduced the Wild Rivers Act 2005. This is a decisive break with the unsustainable practices of the past and will ensure these mistakes are not repeated in Queensland’s remaining free flowing rivers.   

The Wild Rivers initiative has already led to the protection of four river basins in the Queensland Gulf Country, the rivers of Hinchinbrook and Fraser Islands, and three river basins on Cape York Peninsula. The Wenlock River is currently approaching the final stages of the declaration process, and the initiative will result in a further nine river basins in Cape York, and another three in the Channel Country being nominated for protection over the next  two to three years.

The Wild Rivers Act operates by regulating development in declared wild river areas, ensuring that the highly destructive developments such as dams, strip mining and irrigated agriculture cannot occur in sensitive riverine and wetland zones. Contrary to claims in the media by Mr Pearson and his associates, a wild river declaration does not affect pastoral, fishing or tourism operations, or existing developments, and the measures apply to all tenures in the basin. The Act ensures that a declaration, or a wild rivers code, cannot have the direct or indirect effect of limiting a person's right to the exercise or enjoyment of native title, and a declaration cannot occur without extensive community consultation and public submissions. In addition, the Queensland Government undertakes direct dialogue with Traditional Owners from nominated wild river areas.

As part of the initiative, the Queensland Government has committed long term funding to employ 100 Indigenous Wild River Rangers to manage these important river systems. Importantly these are full time jobs, not work for the dole projects. To date, 20 rangers so far have been employed, with another ten scheduled for employment in 2009.

World Heritage opportunities

Cape York Peninsula has been proposed for World Heritage recognition since the early 1980s, both on natural and cultural values. It was one of the goals of the 1996 Cape York Peninsula Heads of Agreement between Indigenous, conservation and pastoral representatives. The Queensland Government and Australian Government’s have committed to working together, in consultation with the local community, to progress a World Heritage nomination for the region. If listed as a World Heritage area, Governments will be obliged to ensure the area has secure, adequate and ongoing funding for a management plan. A listing will continue to support sustainable land uses and, as has occurred in other World Heritage areas, drive significant new employment and development opportunities, including in the areas of land and sea management and tourism.

A World Heritage listing could cover many land tenures, including the new Aboriginal-owned and co-managed National Parks (Cape York Aboriginal Land), Aboriginal freehold, and pastoral estates, provided that there is consent from the appropriate land holders and Traditional Owners, and that property management plans, consistent with World Heritage values, are in place.

Mr Pearson and others have claimed that a World Heritage listing would exclude traditional fishing and hunting activities. This is simply not true.

As the Traditional Owners of the land and sea, Cape York’s Indigenous people must play a central role in the development of any future World Heritage nomination. All key parties involved, including the Queensland and Federal Governments, conservation organisations, and Indigenous groups have agreed that a future nomination will only proceed with the free, prior and informed consent of Traditional Owners and other landholders. This has always been the position of the Wilderness Society in our long running campaign, despite claims to the contrary by Mr Pearson and his associates.

Indigenous participation in decision-making

Traditional Owners are critical to the successful implementation of conservation initiatives on Cape York Peninsula – it is a given that their rights should not be infringed.

The right to ‘free, prior and informed consent’ for conservation initiatives has been raised by Mr Pearson and his associates. It is worth noting that many economic developments, such as mines, do not require the consent of Indigenous people before being proposed, and that Traditional Owners have only a limited right to negotiate. The ultimate decisions are often with Government or private industry interests. The welfare reform program also entails elements of compulsion and the NT emergency response, supported by Mr Pearson and others, occurred without ‘consent’ and entails suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

By way of contrast, conservation initiatives on the Cape have resulted in some of the most substantial gains to Indigenous people in their pursuit of rights and interests – including the return of homelands, Aboriginal-owned protected areas, legislated Indigenous water rights under Wild River declarations, and jobs and resources in land management.

It is clear that ‘free, prior and informed consent’ is a principle that is yet to be fully worked out in the processes of government and within the democratic framework in contemporary Australia. The ideal Government approach is to maximise opportunities for there to be prior consultation and engagement with Traditional Owners, followed by a process designed around dialogue, negotiation and agreement making, ahead of implementation.

Economic development and welfare reform

One of the central criticisms from Mr Pearson of conservation initiatives on Cape York Peninsula is that it will stymie welfare reform by impeding economic development for Aboriginal people. There is no objective evidence to support this assertion. Regulation of development activities does not prohibit future development, it simply ensures that it occurs in a way that minimises impacts on the natural and cultural values of the Cape, and in many ways enhances them. In fact, these natural and cultural assets are of global significance and constitute one of the natural competitive advantages of the Cape.

For instance, a recent study by the Federal Government found that Australia’s World Heritage areas contribute $12 billion to the economy annually, and employ around 140 000 people. This underscores the huge opportunity a World Heritage listing would bring to the region. Similarly, the protection of river systems only enhances tourism, grazing enterprises and fisheries, and avoids the costly situation of restoring a degraded environment, as with the Murray River in the country’s south.

The conservation initiatives on Cape York Peninsula support sustainable development opportunities and the exercise of native title rights. What they do not support is the failed development model of big dams, irrigation, strip mining and broadscale tree clearing – a model we have heard numerous times Traditional Owners do not want.

Further Reading

Wild Rivers get murkier and murkier
crikey.com.au - 12 August 2009
The dispute between the Wilderness Society and indigenous groups opposed to the Queensland Government’s Wild Rivers Act continues to escalate. Bernard Keane reports more >>

The Wilderness Society invites Tania Major to discuss Wild Rivers
Media Release - 31 June 2009
The Wilderness Society today reissued a long standing invitation to anti wild rivers campaigner, Tania Major, to meet to discuss perspectives about wild river protection on Cape York Peninsula. The invitation will be published in major newspapers on Monday. More >>

Conservation and Indigenous partnerships key to future of Cape York
Joint Media Release - 24 June 2009
Partnerships between Traditional Owners and conservation groups are laying important foundation stones for a brighter future for Indigenous communities on Cape York, the director of peak indigenous group Wik Projects, Gina Castelain told a meeting of the Australian Government Working Group on Advancing Reconciliation in Natural Resource Management in Cairns yesterday. More >>

Visit our Indigenous Conservation special site
As much of the planet's life systems are lost, we urgently need innovative ways of looking after the iconic landscapes and extraordinary biodiversity of Australia. Contemporary conservation principles, together with Indigenous ecological knowledge and the expertise of Indigenous Traditional Owners are creating new ways for addressing the cluster of environmental issues facing our ancient continent. More >>