It is with much delight that the Australian Floodplain Association welcomes Minister Darling's declaration of the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers and Cooper's Creek as wild rivers. This legislation permanently protects the water flows in these catchments from activity which could potentially take large amounts of water from the waterways.
Communities in Western Queensland now know that key waterways are protected from the threats of coal seam gas mining, open cut mining and large scale irrigation. It means food and fibre production can continue in a clean and green manner, as it has done for decades. It means communities can now be assured that in decades to come, mankind will not be scurrying to rehabilitate the Channel Country Rivers, as is currently happening in the Murray Darling Basin. Quite simply, it is far cheaper to protect now, then it is to rehabilitate in the future.
The Australian Floodplain Association will continue to work to ensure that grazing can continue to be one of the few food producing industries that opportunistically uses water as it flows across the landscape, and produces quality meat and fibre to meet the needs of our growing global population.
