I am concerned about policies that have been put forward that seek to dam important rivers in the Northern Territory.
The Country Liberal Party have expressed a policy that would put dams in the Adelaide River catchment, to take up to 1000 billion litres for huge new irrigation projects. Such an irrigation project would literally suck the river dry- as occurred last summer in the Darling River in NSW where massive irrigation schemes caused horrendous fish kills. The proposal for the Adelaide River comes just after a similar proposal to do the same to the Roper River in the Territory.
I value the health of our Top End rivers for what they provide for people and nature. The big wet season river flows in the Top End maintain our healthy populations of barramundi, mudcrabs and other fish. Huge irrigation schemes have been shown again and again to destroy the health of rivers and coasts and damage fishing and tourism industries. Taking a thousand billion litres of water from the Adelaide River would destroy the vibrant recreational fishing along the river, wreck the livelihoods of tourism operators and ruin it for all Territorians.
I ask you and your party to oppose any attempt for major dams and associated big irrigation in the Northern Territory.