610GL of unallocated indigenous water for economic prosperity

Where there is reliable access to water in Australia, there is economic prosperity.

Queensland uses more than 7,400GL (7,400,000ML) of water from urban water supply through water services to mining and agriculture.

Queensland total water use - source: ABS, 4610.0 Water Account, Australia, 2021-22

In a state where large areas have Native Title determinations, indigenous ownership of water for economic prosperity is largely non-existent.

Queensland Native Title Determinations and Claims (QResGlobe)

Queensland has a regime of ‘indigenous water’ totaling more than 610GL (8% of current State use) available across the State water plans.

Indigenous water allocations by water plan (Source: Water plans and Ministerial update)

Yet there the vast majority remains unallocated.

The only major allocation has been the 61.2GL made available for the Quandamooka People on Minjerribah; with half for economic use and half for environmental and cultural use.

In talking with Traditional Owner groups, land councils and legal services, the key challenges

• Indigenous groups don’t know about the allocation

• The allocation is difficult to obtain through government process

• There are costs associated with the buying and/or holding water rights that are not able to be met, particularly in the short term

• These problems are not insurmountable. They are the problems of a process that has only been half completed.

• Yes, the information is not easily available

• The process is not clear - the current process is an expression of interest via an email address with no guidance on what the expression should look like or refer to

• The costs of buying and holding water rights are a government-controlled process - largely recovering the costs of infrastructure provision.

In fact, all water in this country has largely been allocated by overcoming these challenges - through town hall meetings in target areas where potential water rights holders are informed and then asked what they may take in volume.

The costs are then examined and largely allocated to water right holders based on their ability to pay. Governments then provide long term subsidies to keep prices low.

Yet, here we are in 2024, and there is 610MGL of unallocated indigenous water held by the State Government.

It is not good enough.

Just as any water allocation process is funded by government, there is a need for widespread funding of water management regime education for indigenous people and the same access to funding to secure water rights that the rest of the water users in this country have benefited from.

Why not succeed, in some small way, in returning a critical piece of our country, water rights, to indigenous people and supporting those people to build prosperity, just as the rest of us have done so.