Next week, government officials are coming to the Kimberley. This is your chance to have a say on the future of water planning in the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment and advocate for better protection.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation are holding two community info sessions in Derby and Fitzroy Crossing next week:

INFO SESSION – DERBY
📍 Derby Civic Centre
🗓️ Tuesday 16 September 2025
🕙 5 – 7pm

INFO SESSION – FITZROY CROSSING
📍Boab Room, Fitzroy River Lodge
🗓️ Thursday 18 September 2025
🕙 5 – 7pm

Join us in calling for:

1. Legislation to protect the surface water of the river including no dams and no floodplain harvesting.
2. Protection of groundwater – no large licences to take billions of litres of water to grow cotton or crops to feed cows.
3. Traditional Owners to be part of decision-making.

What makes the Martuwarra special?

The Martuwarra Fitzroy River, also known as Bandaral-ngari and Walyabidi, is National Heritage-listed, Western Australia’s largest Aboriginal Cultural Heritage site and is one of the world’s last healthy, tropical, free-flowing river systems.

The river is the lifeblood of the Kimberley, providing a lifeline, place of refuge and habitat for plants and animals, including rare and critically endangered species like the freshwater sawfish.

The catchment is home to remarkable landscapes and culture that dates back tens of thousands of years, sustaining thousands of people living along its banks with food, water, medicine and bush food.

It’s a treasured destination for fishing, camping, and adventure and is enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, who are drawn to the dramatic landscapes, abundant wildlife, and deep cultural significance.

What are the current threats to the river and water in the Kimberley?

For decades the Martuwarra Fitzroy River has faced an onslaught of proposals to dam the river and its catchment.

Along the river, we’ve seen proposals from billionaires like Gina Rinehart, and Murray-Darling cotton and beef farmers the Harris Family, to take hundreds of billions of litres for free each year from the river.

Ms Gina Rinehart's pump - sucking as much water out of Uralla (Snake) Creek as possible.  

Now billions of litres of groundwater could be pumped out of the ancient aquifers underground – risking water in the Kimberley.

In recent weeks, billionaire Gina Rinehart’s company Hancock Agriculture publicised plans to capture water before it gets to the river through floodplain harvesting. Ms Rinehart owns Liveringa and Fossil Downs station. The Harris brothers of Gogo Station also have plans for irrigation. 

If these billionaires get their way with these thirsty plans, we risk seeing what happened to the Murray-Darling happening here.

Plans for fracking would also use and could pollute vast amounts of Kimberley water.

What is at risk?

Allowing huge amounts of extra water to be taken from the river, floodplains or groundwater puts the Martuwarra Fitzroy River at risk.

Water is life and the river is life in the Kimberley. Ancient and interconnected groundwater sustains communities, wildlife, plants, and wetlands through the long dry seasons. Taking huge amounts of water could potentially lead to more mass fish kills, like those in 2018 and 2023, when critically endangered sawfish died on a drying floodplain at Liveringa Station, a pastoral station with an existing license to pump water.

We must protect our rivers and water in the Kimberley and prevent a Murray-Darling-type disaster.

Traditional Owners must be part of decision-making.

For decades, Traditional Owners have been working to protect the Martuwarra Fitzroy River from dams and large-scale development.

In 2016, they came together to sign the Fitzroy River Declaration, concerned by the impact of extensive development on the river.

Decision-making about the future of the Kimberley’s Country, river, and groundwater must involve Traditional Owners.

Please let the government know.

If you can't make it to the community info sessions, you can still let the Cook Government know what you'd like to see for the Martuwarra Fitzroy River by sending them a message here - Protect the Martuwarra Fitzroy River.