First Nations’ water target: Three per cent of inland water

The push is on to give First Nations’ people control over a larger slice of one of Australia’s most precious resources — fresh water.

It will be up to First Nations communities whether they use water to support cultural, spiritual, social, environmental or economic outcomes.

Federal, state and territory governments are forging ahead with an agreement to grant First Nations’ groups control of 3 per cent of Australia’s inland water.

A document seen by The Weekly Times shows that at a May 2021 National Partnerships Working Group meeting, federal, state and territory governments agreed in principle to a 3 per cent inland waters target, as part of the national agreement on Closing the Gap.

But it appears the Albanese Government is yet to embrace the target, with its Closing the Gap implementation plan, released in March this year, simply stating a new inland water target will be established that “will accelerate progress towards securing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal rights and interests in inland water bodies under state and territory water rights regimes”.

Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing said “all jurisdictions, including Victoria, endorsed a national 3 per cent Inland Waters Target at Joint Council on Closing the Gap last year.”

Yet Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office stated “no formal goal” had been implemented, although an inland water ownership target was “being discussed by the Closing the Gap Joint Council”.

In the meantime, the Government has committed $40 million towards the Murray-Darling Basin Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program, with the minister’s department stating “water purchases” would “remain in the consumptive pool”.

“It will be a decision for the First Nations beneficiaries whether that water is used to support cultural, spiritual, social, environmental or economic outcomes.”

A Griffith University report, commissioned by the Murray Darling Basin Authority in 2020, found 30 aboriginal entities held 12,774 megalitres of water entitlements in 64 parcels across the basin, equal to 0.12 per cent of total baseline diversion limits.

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Rodney Carter, who has led much of the debate on first nation’s water ownership in Victoria, said the last thing he wanted was the target to set farmers against traditional owners.

In meeting the target Mr Carter said he did not want to see the federal government buying water, but investing in water efficiency projects.

“We all know how it (buying) amplifies the market and for those who aren’t in a good position it becomes challenging with temporary trade,” Mr Carter said.

National Irrigators Council chairman Jeremy Morton said his advocacy group was gaining “a clear understanding of what Indigenous mobs wanted out of water”.