Water Rights Now

Will you please ask Premier Dominic Perrottet to end the dispossession of Traditional Owners’ water rights?

I am a proud Gomeroi woman, born and bred in Moree on my ancestor’s Country in the northwest of NSW.

As I am sure you know, my people’s sovereign lands have been systematically stolen over the past 230 years through a process of colonisation. We have never ceded our Country, and the colonisers have never offered a treaty on just terms to right that wrong.

What you might not know is that colonisation has stolen something just as important to my people as land – maybe more so. It has taken our water — our lifeblood — the essential ingredient that sustains the web of life into which my people have been woven since the beginning of time. I am writing to tell you that colonisation and the dispossession of my people’s water rights did not end last century. It is still happening today, and in fact it is accelerating.

Will you please ask Premier Dominic Perrottet to end the dispossession of Traditional Owners’ water rights?

The NSW Water Minister is about to give a few landholders brand new floodplain harvesting entitlements for billions of litres of water that they will store in their private dams, preventing it from flowing into our rivers and wetlands, water that is essential to keep these places alive.

Losing our land was excruciating. It stole our livelihoods. It has forced generations of my people into poverty and sickness. Countless numbers of my ancestors were killed or died young from disease. But through all these terrible times, we always maintained connection to Country, especially through our rivers and waterholes.

Now the government is threatening that connection by stripping billions of litres out of our already struggling waterways. Premier Perrottet says he wants to do what he can to improve conditions for Aboriginal Peoples. I want to believe him. That’s why I think he can be persuaded to intervene in this matter, which is one of the most important things he could do for the welfare of Aboriginal people.

Will you please email to the Premier and ask him to do something very practical for Tradition Owners? He has the power and he says he cares for my people. Please ask him to stop the massive water giveaway that will sicken our already ailing waterways.

Polly Cutmore
Gomeroi Woman
Moree, Northwest NSW

Dear Premier Perrottet,  
I know you are personally committed to doing what you can to improve outcomes for First Nations Peoples in NSW. I applaud you for that commitment and am writing to suggest a very immediate and practical way you can deliver on that commitment. 
Right now, your Water Minister Kevin Anderson is poised to give a few landholders brand new floodplain harvesting entitlements for billions of litres of water that they will store in their private dams. This giveaway will prevent water from flowing into our rivers and wetlands; water that is essential to keep these places alive.  
The dispossession of Aboriginal people’s lands over the past 230 years has been devastating. It has taken way Traditional Owners’ livelihoods and forced generations into poverty and sickness. But through all these terrible times, they always maintained connection to Country, especially through their rivers and waterholes. Now your government is threatening that vital connection by stripping billions of litres out of the state’s struggling inland waterways. 
Mr Perrottet, you said you wanted to do more for Indigenous communities through all the portfolios of your government. I believe you are a man of your word. I therefore strongly urge you to intervene in this matter. Will you please stop your government taking billions of litres of water from our rivers and wetlands for storage in huge private dams? 
Traditional Owners on river lands in western NSW are desperate to ensure enough water flows to keep their special places healthy. Aboriginal Peoples have been collecting mussels and fish and caring for waterbirds like the spoonbill for countless generations. But that connection is now under threat because of bad water policy. 
The sickening of inland rivers and wetlands is heartbreaking for everyone but especially for First Nations Peoples who have an acute sense of responsibility for Country. By taking more water from our rivers, floodplain harvesting doesn’t just harm rivers and wetlands and all the plants and animals that rely on them. It harms Traditional Owners whose wellbeing is so intimately tied to these places. 
Officials in Environment Minister Griffin’s department have expressed concerns about the adequacy of the floodplain harvesting rules drafted for water sharing plans. The flow targets associated with floodplain harvesting rules must be in line with the environmental watering requirements of each valley.  
Mr Perrottet, please intervene now to ensure our rivers and wetlands get the water they need to survive. Please let me know what you plan to do to address this urgent matter.

I would like to BCC myself