The Northern Territory government has rejected accusations from Indigenous communities and land experts that it is flouting its own land and water laws to facilitate a new cotton industry.
On Monday, ABC’s Four Corners program revealed some NT pastoralists have been allowed to grow cotton on cattle stations without applying for permits to change the use of the land.
The program also revealed the government had given some pastoralists water licences to grow hay, which were then used for cotton.
When asked why the government had allowed pastoral land to be used for cotton production, NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said that was completely legal.
Cotton is one of Australia’s most lucrative farming industries. (ABC: Jessica Schremmer)
“If you have a pastoral lease, you are able, up to a certain percentage, to have non-pastoral use on that,” she said.
“You might be growing cotton for feed for cattle … but you can also use that land to grow cotton if it isn’t the complete use, or the largest percentage use of that land.”
Under the NT’s Pastoral Land Act 1992, it is legal to use up to half of a cattle station pastoral lease to grow crops without a non-pastoral use permit.
However, Tony Young, a former judge who has previously served as chairman of the NT government’s Pastoral Land Board, said that was only for crops to feed cattle, not where their primary purpose was to be sold to make textiles.
“Growing of hay or fodder crops is permitted, [but] the growing of commercial crops that do not have sufficient nexus with the pastoral enterprise is not permitted without a non-pastoral use permit,” he said.
A cotton crop near the regional town of Katherine, seen from above. (Four Corners: Ryan Sheridan)
The NT government’s pastoral land clearing guidelines on complying with the Pastoral Land Act state: “Where the clearing is for a non-pastoral use such as … agriculture then a concurrent application for non-pastoral use will need to be lodged.”
The guidelines also say: “An application to clear pastoral land must clearly state the purpose of the proposed clearing, including specific … crop types.”
Some cotton farmers have said they are also using seed from the cotton to feed their cattle.
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay told ABC Country Hour he had been reassured by the NT government that cattle station owners did not have to get a non-pastoral use permit before planting cotton.
“The minister and the head regulator have confirmed that they don’t need to, and an analysis of the pastoral purposes guide says that it should be okay,” he said.
“Some would say it’s a grey area, but the pastoral purposes guide says it can’t be a dominant use, it can’t use more than 50 per cent of the land and it can’t generate more than half of the receipts from the enterprise.”
However, Mr Young is so concerned about the NT government’s approach to the law, he is calling for the Commonwealth to take action.
“Because the government has doubled down on this and in effect said they will continue with their present unlawful course, then it needs the Commonwealth to step in,” he said.
“It requires a royal commission to investigate what’s going on.”
Last year, the Environment Centre NT sought to clarify the issue in the Supreme Court by challenging a cattle station’s land clearing permit for cattle grazing, fodder and cotton-growing.
However, the environmental group ended its court proceedings after the cattle station owner chose to revoke its own permit, leaving the legal question unanswered.
Mr Young also said that because Indigenous native title holders must be consulted about how their land on pastoral leases was used, it appeared the NT government was bending federal laws by not requiring change of land use permit applications.
The Roper River sustains numerous wetlands, river systems and springs. (Supplied)
“Native title holders are entitled to procedural rights about what happens on their land, and potentially compensation,” he said.
“They’re being deprived of that, so it’s not just a breach of the Pastoral Land Act, it’s a flouting of the Native Title Act that the Northern Territory government are defending.”
Water use concerns
The biggest concern many traditional owners have about a change of land use to cotton growing is the new industry’s demand for water.
A group of Roper River traditional owners are currently displaying a series of maps documenting their important water sites at a Darwin exhibition in an attempt to get the government to change tack.
The maps depict areas of cultural significance along the Roper River. (ABC News: Jayden O’Neill)
“We want to stop the cotton it because it affects our hunting grounds,” Nunggubuyu Roper River traditional owner Daphne Daniels said.
Ngukurr community resident Owen Turner said he was worried about the potential impact of cotton industry water extraction and floodplain dam harvesting.
“Without the water, our culture won’t exist,” he said.
“The government [is] not listening and we just want to save the river.”
The cotton industry has said most of the cotton crop can be grown predominantly using rain.
Traditional owners are concerned about water supply near their communities. (ABC News: Jayden O’Neill)
But the NT government is also facing questions about why it has allowed some pastoralists granted irrigation licences to grow hay, to then use the water to grow cotton.
“You get your water allocation and a water allocation can be used for various uses,” Ms Lawler said.
“We have done the hard yards around water. Is it perfect? Maybe not, but there is more work to be done, so I’ll stand by our record on water in the Northern Territory.”
Kirsty Howey is calling on the federal government to step in. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Environment Centre NT director Kirsty Howey is calling on the federal government to probe both the NT government’s land use change regulation and its water allocation laws.
“We’re calling [for] federal intervention, whether that be a royal commission or public inquiry, so that we can get to the bottom of what’s going on,” she said.
In a statement, federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said “all Australians including First Nations peoples deserve the chance to have a say in the future of our water resources, which is why the detail on a draft national water agreement is currently out for consultation”.
She also said thee government was renewing the National Water Initiative “to consider climate change and properly elevate First Nations peoples in water resource management”.
