Wild Rivers Legislation
6 October 2010
Download a copy of the Wild Rivers Legislation Q&A
The Wild Rivers Act has locked up numerous river systems across Queensland. The aim is to preserve the regions as wilderness. But what is the Legislation and why is it such a hot political issue—particularly in Cape York? This Q&A aims to answer these questions and more.
1. What is the Wild Rivers Act?
2. What areas have been affected by the Wild Rivers Act?
3. Why is the Act controversial?
4. What is the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010?
5. Who are the Traditional Owners of the areas affected by Wild Rivers legislation?
6. Were Indigenous communities consulted about the Wild Rivers legislation?
7. How did the Wild Rivers Act impact on Traditional Owners’ use of their land?
8. Are all Indigenous groups against the Wild Rivers legislation?
9. Why should Indigenous people be allowed to develop or use resources on land that is of conservation value?
1. What is the Wild Rivers Act?
The Wild Rivers Act was passed by the Queensland Parliament in 2005. The Act came about in part as the result of conservation group The Wilderness Society’s pressure on the Queensland government to protect the state’s pristine river systems. The purpose of the Act is to protect rivers that have not yet been significantly impacted by development, by declaring them ‘wild river areas’. In a wild river area, new large-scale development projects such as in-stream dams and weirs, surface mining, and intensive agriculture, are subject to certain restrictions. However, other low impact activities such as small-scale commercial fishing, ecotourism, and sustainable industries, are permitted with Government approval.
2. What areas have been affected by the Wild Rivers Act?
So far 10 regions in Queensland have been declared wild river areas under the Wild Rivers Act. These include Settlement Creek, Gregory River, Morning Inlet, and Staaten River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Wenlock, Archer, Lockhart, and Stewart river basins on the Cape York Peninsula. Hinchinbrook Island and Fraser Island have also been declared wild river areas. Click here to see a map of Queensland’s wild river areas
3. Why is the Act controversial?
Some opponents of the Wild Rivers Act are concerned about how the legislation will affect Aboriginal Traditional Owners who are seeking to develop their land. Prominent Cape York leader Noel Pearson argues that the Act denies Traditional Owners the opportunity to make decisions about how their land and its resources are used, impeding Indigenous economic development. Other high profile figures like Aboriginal academic Marcia Langton have agreed, arguing that Wild Rivers runs the risk of further disadvantaging Indigenous people. She argues that ‘mainstream society’ has built its own economy on environmentally destructive development, and so it should not try to control development on land owned by Indigenous people.
There has been widespread dissatisfaction with the consultation process the Queensland Government undertook around the Act. Many Indigenous communities feel that their views on the Wild Rivers legislation have not been taken into account. Another issue for some groups is that the term ‘wild rivers’ implies that the river areas are not inhabited or used by people. The Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council points out that Aboriginal people have successfully looked after these ‘wild rivers’ for thousands of years, and that the river systems continue to be an important part of their culture and everyday lives today.
4. What is the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010?
The Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010 is about to be introduced to Federal Parliament in response to some of the concerns about the Queensland Wild Rivers Act. The Bill aims to protect Indigenous native title holders’ rights over their land and its resources by overriding the existing Wild Rivers legislation. If it is passed, it will guarantee the rights of Traditional Owners to own, use, develop and control their land, even if this land has been declared a wild river area. It will also require the Queensland Government to get permission from Traditional Owners before it can regulate the use of native title land in a wild river area.
Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott has recently tabled notice of his intention to introduce the Wild Rivers Bill as a private member’s bill, while the Gillard Government has announced that it will ask the House of Representatives Economics Committee to examine the issues raised by the bill and decide if they are valid concerns. The Wild Rivers Bill will probably be debated in parliament over the coming months, once the committee has delivered its findings.
5. Who are the Traditional Owners of the areas affected by Wild Rivers legislation?
The Traditional Owners of land surrounding the Lockhart, Stewart and Archer river basins include Northern and Southern Kannju, Wik Mungkan, Apalach, Wintchnum, Olkola, Kuuku-Y’au, Umpila, Kuntanumpu, Ultahganu, Lama Lama, Kuuku-Yani, Ayapathu, and Umbindamu peoples. The Traditional Owners of the Gulf of Carpentaria wild river areas include the Kukatj, Ganggalida, Gananggallanda, Agwamin, Kutjar, Koknar, Kunjen, Kokoberrin, Maga-Kutana, Wakabunga, Nguburinjo, and Mingin peoples. Hinchinbrook Island’s traditional owners are the Wargamaygan people and Fraser Island’s traditional owners are the Badtjala people.
6. Were Indigenous communities consulted about the Wild Rivers legislation?
The Queensland Government has conducted consultation with communities and Indigenous organisations about the Wild Rivers legislation since 2004. However, some traditional owners in Cape York and other wild river areas feel that the consultation process was inadequate and that their submissions were not given enough weight in the final decision-making process. In its submission to the Senate inquiry into the Wild Rivers Bill 2010, The Wilderness Society acknowledged that the Queensland Government’s consultation process could be improved and made several recommendations to address this.
7. How did the Wild Rivers Act impact on Traditional Owners’ use of their land?
The Queensland Government maintains that a wild river declaration will not affect native title or cultural heritage. Indigenous people will still be able to carry on with activities like camping, fishing, hunting, conducting ceremonies, and traditional fire management. Small-scale development projects, such as eco-tourism industries, are also permitted, and in some wild river areas the Government sets aside a reserve of water for use by Indigenous communities for economic development.
However, the legislation does impose restrictions on high impact development in a wild river area. Intensive development is prohibited in an area within up to one kilometre of the main river and tributaries (the 'High Preservation Area'), but can still occur outside this area if it meets certain conditions. Some people have suggested that this will nevertheless have a negative impact on local Indigenous communities. A study by the Anglican Church shows that the limitations on development in wild river areas will lead to many Indigenous people missing out on job opportunities. Others say that although development can still technically take place in a wild river area, most Traditional Owners don’t have the money or expertise to go through the bureaucratic process that would give them permission to do so.
On the other hand, other people have argued that the effect of the Wild Rivers legislation on Indigenous development is not so clear. The Queensland Government says it has not been made aware of any Indigenous development projects that have been blocked by the new legislation, and points out that it has approved over 100 development applications in Wild River Areas.
8. Are all Indigenous groups against the Wild Rivers legislation?
While it may seem like Indigenous people are on one side of the debate and conservationists are on the other, this is not the case. Some Indigenous people oppose the legislation, and others are in favour of it. For example, prominent activist Murrandoo Yanner of the Carpentaria Land Council has argued that many Aboriginal people don’t want large-scale development on their traditional land anyway: "The majority of the people ... would rather have the sustainable rivers so we can continue as we have for thousands of years to draw our food and nourishment from those rivers." David Claudie, a Northern Kaanju Traditional Owner, has told media that he is in favour of Wild Rivers legislation because it supports sustainable industries. Likewise, Gina Castelain, a Wik leader from the Aurukun community and managing director of Wik Projects Ltd, has said: "We want to protect our environment and our rivers. We are working hard to develop and maintain economic activity which does not harm our waterways - such as Aurukun Wetland Charters - using catch and release fishing and eco- tourism."
9. Why should Indigenous people be allowed to develop or use resources on land that is of conservation value?
This is a difficult issue on which there are many perspectives. On the one side, environmentalists and conservationists are seeking government help to protect pristine land from destructive development. They are supported by some Aboriginal groups who argue that the Wild Rivers legislation is in their peoples’ interests; as the land and its rivers have great significance in their traditional cultures, conservation efforts are helping to preserve Aboriginal cultural values and heritage. On the other hand, some people feel strongly that conservation issues should not be seen as more important than the property and development rights of Aboriginal traditional land owners. Noel Pearson feels that any limitations on development have a particularly adverse effect on Indigenous people, who are already greatly economically disadvantaged. Pearson and others are also determined to safeguard the right of Indigenous people to have a say in how their land is used and protected. To make sure that both the environmental and the Indigenous agendas are met when important decisions about land are being made, most people agree that genuine and respectful partnership with Aboriginal communities is vital.
