Cotton industry threatens NT tourism and traditional lands

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In the red soil of the Top End, a new industry is emerging – Cotton. Examining the conflicts of interest that some say will lead to the destruction of some of the Northern Territory’s most famous tourism destinations.

Transcript

00:00They are the lifeblood of the Northern Territory.

00:11The big rivers, wild and free flowing.

00:17Fed by pristine springs and a network of ancient groundwater.

00:25Look at this place, it's deadly fishing, swimming, the tourists love it.

00:33Beneath the red dirt lies a vast water resource and here in the top end it's free.

00:41Developers are circling.

00:44It's absolutely a water grab.

00:49They're fighting for water from the top and down to the jacket.

00:53I think it comes back to this political imperative for development and I hate to say it, perhaps

00:59development at any cost.

01:03The red carpet is being rolled out for a new industry, cotton.

01:09It's a lucrative crop with a troubled history.

01:13We are not the Murray-Darling Basin.

01:15I think there is a sense that cotton is a dirty word.

01:21Now growers are eyeing off water, but access to it in the NT has been mired in secret deals

01:30and cosy relationships.

01:33This created really a dysfunctional arrangement.

01:36I had to ask, what hat are you wearing today?

01:40They should negotiate first before they started doing cotton here.

01:45The government is shutting down independent science.

01:50We're really at risk of establishing some kind of fake science war.

01:55Have you been told personally by department officials to keep quiet?

01:59Yes.

02:01And what's at stake goes well beyond politics.

02:05Without those flows they dry up.

02:07Look, it could be catastrophic, absolutely catastrophic.

02:11What is life without it?

02:13We'll all perish.

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