I am deeply concerned about the future of the critically endangered freshwater sawfish and its home – the Kimberley’s Martuwarra Fitzroy River. 

I am calling on you as the decision makers for the future of this river, to protect the last stronghold and what’s considered the world’s most important nursery ground for the freshwater sawfish. 

Developments that threaten to take billions of litres of water from the river, its floodplains or ancient groundwater systems, risk the health of the river and the rare species that rely on it for survival, like the freshwater sawfish. 

We’ve seen the damage that irrigation along the Martuwarra can cause to this important species, following multiple mass sawfish death events in the catchment near Liveringa Station – a pastoral property with a license to pump water out of the river. 

Plans to take any further water from the Martuwarra, floodplains or the precious groundwater and aquifers that support the river during the long dry season, could risk further strandings and deaths of sawfish in the catchment. 

The mighty Martuwarra is crucial to the survival of this species, which has disappeared by 80 per cent of its former global range. This is why I am calling on you to protect the river before it is too late. 

I strongly urge you to commit to protecting the freshwater sawfish by taking action to protect the Martuwarra, by enacting long-term and legally binding protection for the river, its floodplains, wetlands and groundwater that is co-designed with Traditional Owners. 

This is an opportunity to deliver on your government’s commitment to protect the Martuwarra Fitzroy River and leave a legacy that all Western Australians can be proud of.