Aboriginal peoples barely own a drop of water in the vast Murray-Darling Basin water market, and First Nations groups say government inaction is denying their Indigenous rights to use the resource for environmental, social and economic purposes.
The Murray-Darling Basin water market is worth more than $16 billion, but Aboriginal organisations in NSW own just $16 million in water assets, or 0.1 per cent, according to a study from Griffith University – and First Nations groups own very little else in other states.
The Brewarrina weir on the Barwon River in north-west NSW. First Nations groups are urging the federal government to increase the speed and volume of the rollout of their water rights.Credit:Getty Images
The federal government set aside $40 million two-and-a-half years ago to purchase water rights for Aboriginal peoples across the basin, to be split evenly between the north and south, but is yet to invest any of the money, frustrating First Nations advocates.
"The federal government has procrastinated for a very long time," said Grant Rigney, vice chairman of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations, which advocates for First Nations peoples in the southern half of the basin.
Across the basin more than 10,000 gigalitres, or 10 billion litres, was extracted in the year to July 2019 for consumptive use – which is mostly irrigation and a small amount for town water.
Mr Rigney said the $20 million allocated to the southern basin would buy between four and six gigalitres, which "would be nowhere near sufficient".
"We don't want this to be a one-off payment," he said. "That water has always been First Nations peoples', since the beginning of time, and they have sustained the waterways up to colonisation.
"Our ownership is reflected in the United Nations declaration of rights for Indigenous peoples."
Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) chairman Fred Hooper said government "wasn't acting in good faith with First Nations peoples".
"Government has to look at its international obligations, in terms of Aboriginal rights and international agreements," Mr Hooper said. "The treaty to form NBAN unites us; we are speaking with one voice in our fight for water rights.
"I know $40 million sounds like a lot of money at the moment, but it doesn't buy much water – and the states need to match that amount.
"The first step should be to secure water rights for cultural flows."
Federal Water Minister Keith Pitt said he had committed to reach an agreement with First Nations peoples by March 31, to decide on a framework to roll out the $40 million package.
"Development of the program has been slower than I would have liked, but it is important that we reach agreement with Aboriginal people across the basin so the program is developed to best meet the needs of basin First Nations communities," Mr Pitt said.
Melbourne University centre for resources, energy and environment law senior fellow Erin O'Donnell said there was growing international pressure to gain water and land rights for Indigenous peoples.
"The issue of connectivity has been pushed by Indigenous people around the world for several decades, and many colonial countries are finding that a rich source of water distribution.
"Chile is an interesting example, where Indigenous people used international norms and laws as a way of pressuring the Chilean government to recognise their customary rights to water."
Mr Rigney said First Nations peoples want water allocations for economic purposes in agriculture, cultural practices such as sustaining a wetland or spurring fish breeding, and to deliver good river flows for a healthy system to people downstream.
"We've been managing the river as custodians from the beginning of time, but governments are not asking us how we did that," Mr Rigney said.
"We want water to flow from the top of the tablelands in Queensland to the Murray mouth in South Australia, to sustain the whole of the river system."
The legislated position for a permanent Indigenous representative on the board of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority was filled in December last year, after more than a year's delay.
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