Water resource assessment for the Southern Gulf catchments Australia’s National Science Agency A report from the CSIRO Southern Gulf Water Resource Assessment for the National Water Grid Editors: Ian Watson, Caroline Bruce, Seonaid Philip, Cuan Petheram and Chris Chilcott ISBN 978-1-4863-2081-3 (print) ISBN 978-1-4863-2082-0 (online) Citation Watson I, Bruce C, Philip S, Petheram C and Chilcott C (eds) (2024) Water resource assessment for the Southern Gulf catchments. A report from the CSIRO Southern Gulf Water Resource Assessment for the National Water Grid. CSIRO, Australia. Chapters should be cited in the format of the following example: Philip S, Watson I, Petheram C and Bruce C (2024) Chapter 1: Preamble. In: Watson I, Bruce C, Philip S, Petheram C, and Chilcott C (eds) (2024) Water resource assessment for the Southern Gulf catchments. A report from the CSIRO Southern Gulf Water Resource Assessment for the National Water Grid. CSIRO, Australia. Copyright © Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2024. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of CSIRO. Important disclaimer CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. CSIRO is committed to providing web accessible content wherever possible. If you are having difficulties with accessing this document, please contact Email CSIRO Enquiries . CSIRO Southern Gulf Water Resource Assessment acknowledgements This report was funded through the National Water Grid’s Science Program, which sits within the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Aspects of the Assessment have been undertaken in conjunction with the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland governments. The Assessment was guided by two committees: i. The Governance Committee: CRC for Northern Australia/James Cook University; CSIRO; National Water Grid (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water); Northern Land Council; NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security; NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade; Office of Northern Australia; Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries; Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water ii. The Southern Gulf catchments Steering Committee: Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the NT; Austral Fisheries; Burketown Shire; Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation; Health and Wellbeing Queensland; National Water Grid (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water); Northern Prawn Fisheries; Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries; NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security; NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade; Office of Northern Australia; Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water; Southern Gulf NRM Responsibility for the Assessment’s content lies with CSIRO. The Assessment’s committees did not have an opportunity to review the Assessment results or outputs prior to their release. This report was reviewed by Mr Mike Grundy (Independent consultant). Individual chapters were reviewed by Dr Peter Wilson, CSIRO (Chapter 2); Dr Andrew Hoskins, CSIRO (Chapter 3); Dr Brendan Malone, CSIRO (Chapter 4); Dr James Bennett, CSIRO (Chapter 5); Dr Nikki Dumbrell, CSIRO (Chapter 6); Mr Darran King, CSIRO (Chapter 7). The material in this report draws largely from the companion technical reports, which were themselves internally and externally reviewed. For further acknowledgements, see page xxviii. Acknowledgement of Country CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands, seas and waters of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. Photo Saltwater Arm, a tributary of the Albert River. This view typifies the tidal rivers and estuaries along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Source: Shutterstock 3 Living and built environment of the Southern Gulf catchments Authors: Pethie Lyons, Linda Merrin, Seonaid Philip, Diane Jarvis, Thomas Vanderbyl, Danial Stratford, Rob Kenyon, Simon Linke, Rocio Ponce Reyes, Heather McGinness, Caroline Bruce, Kaylene Camuti, Andrew R Taylor, Nathan Waltham, Jodie Pritchard Chapter 3 discusses a wide range of considerations relating to the living components of the catchments of the Southern Gulf rivers, that is Settlement Creek, Gregory–Nicholson River and Leichhardt River, the Morning Inlet catchments and the Wellesley island groups.1 This includes the environments that support these components, the people who live in the catchments or have strong ties to it, and the existing transport, power and water infrastructure. 1 Only those islands greater than 1000 ha are mapped The key components and concepts of Chapter 3 are shown in Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1 Schematic diagram of key components of the living and built environment to be considered in establishing a greenfield irrigation development Numbers refer to sections in this chapter. Block diagram of chapter sections \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\10_Reporting\1_All\9_Graphics_artist\3_Vic and SoG\C Bruce Vic CR Chp3_8_2024.jpg For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au 3.1 Summary This chapter provides information on the living and built environment, including information about the people, the ecology, the infrastructure and the institutional context of the Southern Gulf catchments. It also examines the values, rights, interests and development objectives of Indigenous Peoples. 3.1.1 Key findings Ecology The largely intact habitats and landscapes of the Southern Gulf catchments provide ecosystem services that support high biodiversity, recreational activities, tourism, traditional and commercial fisheries, mining and areas of agricultural production. Within the freshwater sections of the Southern Gulf catchments are extensive areas with high habitat values, including ephemeral and persistent rivers, wetlands, floodplains and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs), including 13 sites listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. Flows from the rivers and creeks in the Southern Gulf catchments into the Gulf of Carpentaria support recreational and commercial fisheries including barramundi (Lates calcarifer) and prawn fisheries. The Southern Gulf catchments support some of northern Australia’s most iconic wildlife species, including freshwater sawfish (Pristis pristis; listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)), marine turtles and dugong (Dugong dugon) that occur in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria. A wide variety of waterbirds can be found throughout the catchments as well as many lesser-known plants and animals that are also of great conservation significance (Atlas of Living Australia, 2021). Changes in land and water resources can have serious consequences for the ecology of rivers. Water resource development that changes the magnitude, timing or duration of either low or high flows can affect species, habitats and ecological processes such as connectivity. Water resource development can also facilitate or exacerbate other impacts, including the spread or establishment of invasive species, increases in other anthropogenic pressures, and changes to water quality, including the availability and distribution of nutrients. Demographics, industries and infrastructure The Southern Gulf catchments have a population of about 22,500, with a population density one-sixteenth that of Australia as a whole. The study area contains one significant urban area (population >10,000 people), namely, the city of Mount Isa (over 18,000 people). There are several small towns and communities within the catchments, including Burketown, Doomadgee and Kajabbi and Gununa on the Wellesley Islands. Of these settlements, only Doomadgee (population 1387 as at the 2021 Census) has a population greater than 1000. Residents of the Southern Gulf catchments tend to be younger and more likely to identify as Indigenous than the typical resident of Queensland and of Australia as a whole. Incomes differ from the national and state mean, but the direction of the difference depends on the part of the population in question: incomes for the people of Mount Isa are higher than the state and national average while incomes of residents of the remainder of the study area are lower on average. 102 | Water resource assessment for the Southern Gulf catchments Excluding Mount Isa data from the analysis because it is heavily skewed to mining, the data reveal that agriculture provides 17.5% of employment. The dominant land use in the Southern Gulf catchments is grazing (77%). Conservation and protected land occupy 16% of the catchments and water and wetlands occupy another 3.8%. In terms of land tenure, 12% of the Southern Gulf catchments is held as Aboriginal freehold. The gross value of agricultural production (GVAP) in the Southern Gulf catchments is approximately $243.6 million, of which beef cattle contribute around $242.7 million and cropping accounts for the remaining $0.9 million. The Southern Gulf catchments are serviced by a modest network of major roads. The Barkly Highway is the only sealed road between the NT and Queensland. Type 2 road trains (vehicles up to 53 m in length) have access to a large percentage of the pastoral enterprises, providing onward access east to the Port of Townsville, south to markets and west into the NT. A good-quality rail line, which provides a link to Townsville and its port, can be accessed at Mount Isa. The North West Power System (NWPS) is centred in Mount Isa. The only other location receiving high voltage power in the Southern Gulf catchments is the Century Mine (zinc) near Lawn Hill from an approximately 250 km branch. Doomadgee, Burketown and Gununa have their own power stations. The smaller communities are very remote and serviced by stand-alone diesel-powered off-grid electricity generation facilities. Large water storages are found in the North West Minerals Province of the Southern Gulf catchments. The two major storages, Lake Moondarra (107 GL capacity) and Lake Julius (107 GL capacity), are both on the Leichhardt River. They provide a reliable potable water supply to Mount Isa and through transmission pipelines to mining enterprises in the study area. The North West Queensland Water Pipeline from Lake Julius also supplies water to Ernest Henry Mine and Cloncurry, both in the neighbouring Flinders catchment. Other large water storages are directly linked to mining, with two large on-property water storage facilities supporting small-scale irrigation development with surface water allocations of between 1000 and 8000 ML/year. Some moderate surface water licences drawing water from permanent rivers (between 400 and 1000 ML/year) have been granted for town and community water supply. Much smaller surface water licences (<50 ML/year) are associated with stock use. Currently 13 groundwater licences have been granted for a variety of applications. The largest entitlements (150 to 1400 ML/year) are associated with industrial use in mining. Two licensed entitlements of approximately 100 ML/year have been granted for town and community water supplies, and the smallest groundwater licences (<100 ML/year) have been granted for a variety of industrial and agricultural uses. Groundwater is sourced from a variety of aquifers hosted in different geological units. Indigenous values and development objectives This section gives an overview of the information needed on Indigenous water issues in the Assessment area to provide foundations for community consultations and involvement in further research, and planning and decision making with government and industry. The sub-project focuses on publicly available literature with additional material to be provided through discussions with Indigenous land-owning groups within the catchments. The literature review includes the previous Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment reports on Indigenous water rights, values, interests and development goals; publications on Indigenous water values and the colonisation of northern Australia; and reports related to development in the Southern Gulf catchments. The language groups of this Assessment area are: •Leichhardt catchment – Kalkadoon, Mitakoodi, Wakabunga, Mayi-Kutuna, Mayi-Thankurti, Mayi-Yapi, Mayi-Yali and Kukatj•Nicholson catchment – Waanyi, Garawa, Wakabunga, Nguburinji, and Gangalidda•Wellesley Islands – Lardil, Yangkaal, Kaiadilt•Settlement catchment – Garawa, Gangalidda•Morning Inlet catchment – Kukatj. This sub-project builds on findings from the consultations with Indigenous Peoples from the previously conducted Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment reports to offer a regionally specific assessment designed to help non-Indigenous decision makers and others understand general Indigenous valuations of water and relationships to Country and the rights and interests attached to those. It highlights Indigenous perspectives on water-related development, development objectives, and cultural heritage concerns related to access to pastoral and mining leases and Indigenous land and water management and responsibilities. Studies in the mining and community sectors demonstrate increasing concerns about the cumulative impact of development on groundwater and surface water supply and quality. Indigenous Peoples and the groups they belong to have significant land holdings and rights in Country through: •the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALRA) •the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989 (NT) •Queensland Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (ALA) deeds of grant in trust (DOGIT) •native title determinations exclusive and non-exclusive (Queensland) •the Queensland Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 •Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) (Queensland). Indigenous Peoples within the catchments have a long history of engaging with development interests in pastoralism and mining, two sectors that influence contemporary water values. Indigenous owners in the catchments have actively negotiated with sector development interests to facilitate aligning their economic viability and sustainability objectives with cultural and environmental goals. There are examples of business development successes with Kalkadoon Native Title Aboriginal Corporation Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) and the Waanyi People through business partnerships with mining companies. The Lawn Hill and Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company is a significant agreement that supports the economic development of Waanyi People. However, broader development outcomes of expanding human capability and establishing new regional opportunities are not yet being realised. Ranger groups are engaged in fee-for-service work and, more broadly, environmental management, including collaborations with Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management (NRM) in Queensland. Indigenous representative agencies and industry more broadly are currently being engaged by the Queensland Government in reviewing the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 (Queensland Government, 2007). 104 | Water resource assessment for the Southern Gulf catchments Queensland Government in reviewing the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 (Queensland Government, 2007). Legal and policy environment Proponents must be aware of the complex legal, policy and regulatory landscape when contemplating and planning land and water developments within the Southern Gulf catchments. As part of their due diligence process, proponents must secure appropriate land tenure, secure the necessary authorisations to take water, and obtain a range of government approvals prior to commencing construction and operation of a development. The Southern Gulf catchments straddle the border between the NT and Queensland. This means that government powers and responsibilities for managing land and water resources in the Southern Gulf catchments are shared between the Australian Government, the NT and Queensland governments and local governments. The NT and Queensland governments have primary responsibility for land, water and environmental policy and laws. The Australian Government has powers under the EPBC Act relating to matters of national environmental significance (including those arising from the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and the Convention on Biological Diversity) and the native title rights of Indigenous Peoples. Local governments are established within the states and territories. In Queensland, these have responsibility for land use planning, which involves establishing local planning schemes that regulate land use and development. However, in the NT, the planning system is administered by the NT Government rather than local government. 3.1.2 Introduction This chapter seeks to address the following questions. In the Southern Gulf catchments, what are the existing: •ecological systems •demographic and economic profiles, land use, industries and infrastructure •values, rights, interests and development objectives of Indigenous Peoples? The chapter is structured as follows: •Section 3.2 examines the ecological systems and assets of the Southern Gulf catchments, including the key habitats and biota and their important interactions and connections. •Section 3.3 examines the socio-economic profile of the Southern Gulf catchments, includingcurrent demographics, existing industries and infrastructure of relevance to water resourcedevelopment. •Section 3.4 examines the Indigenous values, rights, interests and development objectives ofTraditional Owners from the Southern Gulf catchments, generated through a literature review ofjournal articles, grey literature and media articles. 3.2 Southern Gulf catchments and their environmental values This section provides an overview of the environmental values and freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecological assets found in the Southern Gulf catchments. Unless otherwise stated, the material in this section is based on findings described in the companion technical report on ecological assets (Merrin et al., 2024). The Southern Gulf catchments span an area of 108,200 km2, of which 21% lies in the NT and 79% lies in Queensland. They are composed of Settlement (17,600 km2), Nicholson (52,200 km2), Leichhardt (33,400 km2) and Morning Inlet (3,700 km2) catchments, and the Wellesley island groups (1,200 km2). Agricultural production is the largest land use in the catchments, mostly cattle grazing on native pastures (77%) (ABARES, 2022). Other land uses include recreational activities, tourism, traditional and commercial fisheries, mining and Indigenous uses. In addition, these catchments have important ecological and environmental values. Within these catchments and the surrounding marine environment are rich and important ecological assets, including species, ecological communities, habitats, and ecological processes and functions (see the conceptualised summary in Figure 3-2). The ecology of the Southern Gulf catchments is maintained by the flow regime in each catchment, shaped by the region’s wet-dry climate and complex geomorphology and topography and driven by seasonal rainfall, evapotranspiration and groundwater discharge. For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-2 Conceptual diagram of selected ecological assets of the Southern Gulf catchments Ecological assets include species of significance, species groups, important habitats and ecological processes. See Table 3-2 for a complete list of the fresh water–dependent, marine and terrestrial ecological assets considered in the Southern Gulf catchments. Biota icons: adapted from Integration and Application Network (2023) The Southern Gulf catchments have a highly seasonal climate with an extended dry season. Rainfall averages 602 mm/year with 94% of the rainfall falling in the wet season (McJannet et al., 2023). The dominant vegetation types in the catchments are open eucalypt open woodlands, Melaleuca forests and woodlands, and tussock grasslands (Department of Climate Change‚ Energy‚ the Environment and Water, 2020). The Southern Gulf catchments have two major water storages: Lake Julius and Lake Moondarra. Both storages are located on the Leichhardt River and are listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA). While the water in these two storages predominantly supplies urban, mining and industrial demand around Mount Isa and Cloncurry, the permanent water provides important dry-season refuge for waterbirds and supports a variety of freshwater fish species (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). During the wet season, flooding inundates significant parts of the downstream reaches of the catchments connecting wetlands to the river channel, inundating floodplains and driving a productivity boom. This flooding is particularly evident in the downstream parts of the catchments, including the floodplain wetlands, and extensive intertidal flats on the mainland coastline south of Bentinck and Sweers islands, where it delivers extensive discharges into the marine waters of the south-western Gulf of Carpentaria. While most rivers in the Southern Gulf catchments are ephemeral, the Gregory and O'Shannassy rivers and Lawn Hill Creek are perennial, being fed by groundwater from the Thorntonia Limestone (see Section 2.5.4). These perennial waterways provide critical refuge habitat for many aquatic species in this semi-arid environment. During the dry season, river flows are reduced and the streams in the catchment contract, resulting in series of instream waterholes that also provide critical habitat in the dry season. Protected, listed and significant areas of the Southern Gulf catchments The protected areas located in the Southern Gulf catchments include the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh), three Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) – Ganalanga-Mindibirrina, Nijinda Durlga and Thuwathu/Bujimulla – and Boodjamulla (encompassing Lawn Hill) and Finucane Island national parks and other conservation parks (Figure 3-4). The Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh) is largely situated within the Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land). It is considered one of the richest and most extensive fossil deposits in the world. The Ganalanga-Mindibirrina IPA (NT) is located in the upper reach of the Nicholson River and covers over 1 million ha. The Nijinda Durlga IPA covers over 186,850 ha and includes habitat for marine turtles, dugongs, shorebirds and seabirds. The Thuwathu/Bujimulla IPA spans across the Wellesley Islands and includes over 1.6 million ha of marine area and over 120,000 ha of land. The area contains significant habitat for sea turtles, shorebirds and seabirds. It is also culturally significant, including having the largest collection of stone fish traps in the southern hemisphere (Australian Indigenous Australians Agency, 2023). Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) includes sandstone ranges, Lawn Hill Gorge and the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh) UNESCO World Heritage site. Lawn Hill Gorge is formed by Lawn Hill Creek, which is groundwater fed, as are the Gregory and O'Shannassy rivers. Lawn Hill Creek and Gregory River contain wet riverine forest and support a variety of plant species. Lawn Hill Creek supports freshwater turtles, including the Gulf snapping turtle (Elseya lavarackorum; listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)) and more than 20 species of fish. Across the catchment, permanent water sources provide important refuge habitat for a broad variety of species (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2023a). Finucane Island National Park, a 7610 ha island within a river network, is located within the Southern Gulf Aggregation DIWA site. It includes estuarine wetlands, salt flats, mangroves and grasslands. The park provides important habitat for fish and waterbirds (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2023b). The Southern Gulf catchments contain 13 nationally significant wetlands listed in the DIWA: Bluebush Swamp, Buffalo Lake Aggregation, Forsyth Island Wetlands, Gregory River, Lake Julius, Lake Moondarra, Lawn Hill Gorge, Marless Lagoon Aggregation, Musselbrook Creek Aggregation, Nicholson Delta Aggregation, Southern Gulf Aggregation, Thorntonia Aggregation and Wentworth Aggregation (Figure 3-4) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). These DIWA-listed wetlands include a variety of wetland types, ranging from estuarine wetlands with salt flats and saltmarshes to artificial lakes and spring-fed creeks and rivers. No wetlands listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance occur within the Southern Gulf catchments. In Queensland, statewide vegetation mapping classifies remnant vegetation communities as regional ecosystems and includes an assessment of the condition of the remnant vegetation with a biodiversity status (Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, 2024a). Regional ecosystems with a biodiversity status of endangered or of concern are shown on Figure 3-5. This data underpins the Vegetation Management Act 1999 and Planning Act 2016 (Qld) where applications for clearing for development are submitted. Figure 3-3 Estuarine crocodiles inhabit fresh and saltwater environments Photo: CSIRO – Nathan Dyer Ecology wetlands and protected areas map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\7_Ecology\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Ec-S-505_CR_location_map_detailed_v14.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-4 Location of protected areas and important wetlands within the Southern Gulf catchments Assessment area Includes management areas protected mainly for conservation through management intervention as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Dataset: Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment (2020a); Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment (2020b) Department of the Environment and Energy (2010) Qld Regional ecosystem biodiversity status, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\10_Reporting\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_Docs\CR-S-519_RemVeg_Status_v2StandardColor.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-5 Regional ecosystem biodiversity status in the Queensland part of the Southern Gulf catchments Datasets: Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment (2020b); Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (2024a) Important habitat types and values of the Southern Gulf catchments The freshwater sections of the Southern Gulf catchments provide diverse habitats, including persistent and ephemeral rivers, wetlands, floodplains and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs). The diversity and complexity of habitats, and the connections between habitats within a catchment, are vital for providing the range of habitats needed to support both aquatic and terrestrial biota (Schofield et al., 2018). In the wet season, flooding connects rivers to floodplains. The exchange of water between the river and the floodplain supports higher levels of primary and secondary productivity than is found in surrounding areas that are less frequently inundated (Pettit et al., 2011). Infiltration of water into the soil during the wet season and along persistent streams often enables riparian habitats to form an important interface between the aquatic and terrestrial environments. While riparian habitats often occupy a relatively small proportion of the catchment, they frequently have a higher species richness and abundance of individuals than surrounding habitats (Pettit et al., 2011; Xiang et al., 2016). In the dry season, biodiversity is supported by the perennial rivers and creeks, permanent lakes and inchannel waterholes. These water sources that persist through the dry season become increasingly important as the season progresses; they provide important refuge habitat for species and enable recolonisation into surrounding habitats upon the return of larger flows (Hermoso et al., 2013). Persistent waterholes provide habitat for water-dependent species, including fish, sawfish and turtles, as well as providing a source of water for other species more broadly within the landscape (McJannet et al., 2014; Waltham et al., 2013). The terrestrial habitats of northern Australia include a range of diverse and significant habitat types. While much of the tropics of northern Australia is savanna, eucalypt forest and grasslands, other habitats include riparian and floodplain communities and GDEs. Many of these are highly dependent upon fresh water supplied from rivers, and their persistence and condition can also be supported by groundwater discharges. Riparian and floodplain communities from the Queensland remnant vegetation regional ecosystem data with endangered and of concern biodiversity status are well represented in the Southern Gulf catchments (Figure 3-5). Areas where the dominant regional ecosystem is endangered (0.7% of the Queensland section of the Southern Gulf catchments, Table 3-1) are spread across riparian zones of the higher relief areas with associated seasonally wet areas nearby having endangered sub-dominant regional ecosystems (3.2%). Areas of the more frequently flooded floodplains of the larger rivers and creeks have dominant regional ecosystems classified as of concern (10.5%) with larger areas of the floodplain less frequently flooded with a biodiversity ‘of concern’ on one or more of the subdominant regional ecosystems (12%) (Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, 2024a). Table 3-1 Categories of biodiversity status of the Queensland regional ecosystems CATEGORY DEFINITION SUBCLASS AREA OF THE QUEENSLAND PART OF THE SOUTHERN GULF CATCHMENTS (HA) PERCENTAGE OF THE QUEENSLAND PART OF THE SOUTHERN GULF CATCHMENTS (%) Endangered Remnant vegetation is less than 10% of its pre- clearing extent across the bioregion; or 10–30% of its pre-clearing extent remains and the remnant vegetation is less than 10,000 ha. Dominant† Sub- dominant‡ 59,417 271,745 0.7 3.2 Of concern Remnant vegetation is 10 to 30% of its pre- clearing extent across the bioregion; or more than 30% of its pre-clearing extent remains and the remnant extent is less than 10,000 ha. Dominant† Sub- dominant‡ 898,058 1,025,883 10.5 12 †‘Dominant’ subclass means that greater than 50% of the polygon contains the regional ecosystem mapping. ‡‘Sub-dominant’ subclass means that less than 50% of the polygon contains the regional ecosystem mapping. GDEs occur across many parts of the Southern Gulf catchments and come in different forms, including aquatic, terrestrial and subterranean habitats. Aquatic GDEs contain springs and river sections that hold water throughout most dry seasons due to groundwater discharge. Aquatic GDEs are important for supporting aquatic life and fringing vegetation, and in the wet-dry tropics they provide critical refuge during periods of the late dry season (James et al., 2013). Vegetation occurring adjacent to the waterways in the Southern Gulf catchments relies on water from a range of sources (surface water, soil water, groundwater) which are seasonally dynamic and highly spatially variable. Water may be sourced from a combination of direct rainfall, bank recharge from instream flows, local floodplain recharge from surface water inundation during overbank flows, and/or shallow groundwater connected to intermediate or regional aquifer systems. Perennial floodplain vegetation often uses groundwater when it is within reach of the root network, particularly during the dry season or drought, but the origin of the groundwater used has only been infrequently investigated (e.g. Canham et al. (2021)). In some locations, vegetation may be sustained by water available in soils and so never use groundwater. In other locations, vegetation may use groundwater sourced from local alluvial recharge processes; alternatively, regional groundwater may be critical for maintaining vegetation condition. Subterranean aquatic ecosystems in the limestone that occur in the upper south-western region of the Southern Gulf catchments support subterranean fauna that depend on the presence of groundwater (e.g. troglofauna, which live in caves, and stygofauna, which live in groundwater systems). The marine and estuarine environments of the Southern Gulf catchments, including the mainland area adjacent to Mornington and Sweers islands, have extensive intertidal flats and estuarine communities, including mangroves, salt flats and seagrass habitats. These habitats are highly productive, have high cultural value and are often of national significance (Poiner et al., 1987). Seagrass beds in the nearby coastal Gulf of Carpentaria have high diversity, vigorous stands and provide an important food and habitat for dugongs, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and prawns (Loneragan et al., 1997; Poiner et al., 1987). These near-coastal and estuary habitats support a major commercial barramundi fishery (Bayliss et al., 2014). Mud crabs (mainly Scylla serrata) are also harvested (Bayliss et al., 2014). Significant species and ecological communities of the Southern Gulf catchments A number of aquatic and terrestrial species occurring in the Southern Gulf catchments are currently listed as Critically endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable under the EPBC Act and by the NT Government’s wildlife classification system and the Queensland Government’s threatened species conservation system. These include freshwater or large tooth sawfish (Pristis pristis; Vulnerable, EPBC Act) and the Gulf snapping turtle (Elseya lavarackorum; Endangered, EPBC Act). The Southern Gulf catchments are important stopover habitat for migratory shorebird species listed under the EPBC Act, including the eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis; Critically endangered) and the Australian painted snipe (Rostratula australis; Endangered) (Atlas of Living Australia, 2021; Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021b). While there are many plant species that fall into the endangered and of concern regional ecosystems from the Queensland remnant vegetation mapping, the regional ecosystem that is most common in the endangered dominant category in the Southern Gulf catchments is the Eucalyptus camaldulensis woodland on channels and levees (regional ecosystem (RE) class 1.3.7), a regional ecosystem of the riparian zone and an important seasonal water bird habitat also providing regional corridors for fauna. The most common regional ecosystem in the ‘of concern’ dominant category is the woodlands of the creek and river frontage (regional ecosystem (RE) class 2.3.20) providing refuges for flora and fauna (Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, 2024a). Threatening processes for these two areas are the dry season impacts of high grazing pressure leading to habitat degradation and loss leaving areas prone to weed infestation. 3.2.1 Potential threats in the Southern Gulf catchments Land use practices and ecology Northern Australia more broadly encompasses some of the last relatively undisturbed tropical riverine landscapes in the world with low levels of flow regulation and low development intensity (Pettit et al., 2017; Vörösmarty et al., 2010). Fishing in northern Australia is a valuable industry, and the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria contribute significantly to the national catch of important species, including prawns, mud crabs and barramundi. Riparian vegetation characteristics of the Southern Gulf catchments are considered to not be affected by extensive clearing or development, although impacts that occur are often associated with stock and pest species (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). A range of economic enterprises, infrastructure and human impacts occur in the Southern Gulf catchments, and the nature and extent to which these have modified habitats and affected species of the Southern Gulf catchments varies. The study area includes the towns of Burketown and Doomadgee and the city of Mount Isa, which support tourism and mining and act as regional hubs for many of the cattle stations across the catchments. While a proportion of the catchments are under conservation reserves, the study area does face environmental threats, including the potential for further mining and tourism-related impacts at sensitive and vulnerable sites. One of the most significant environmental threats to remote regions across northern Australia is that of introduced plants and animals. In the Southern Gulf catchments, introduced animals include feral horses (Equus caballus), wild pig (Sus scrofa) and cane toads (Rhinella marina) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a; 2021b). Weeds of national significance in the aquatic systems of northern Australia include salvinia (Salvinia molesta) and rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) (Close et al., 2012). Weed species of interest in and around the Southern Gulf catchments include prickly acacia (Vachellia nilotica), buffel-grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), rubber vine and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021b). Water resource development and ecology Impacts associated with water resource development include the following, which are described below: • flow regime change • altered longitudinal and lateral connectivity • habitat modification and loss • increased invasive and non-native species • synergistic and co-occurring processes. Flow regime change Water resource development, including water harvesting and creating instream structures for water retention, can influence the timing, quality and quantity of water that is provided by catchment runoff into the river system. The natural flow regime is important in supporting a broad range of environmental processes upon which species and habitat condition depend (Lear et al., 2019; Poff et al., 1997). Flow conditions provide the physical habitat in streams and rivers, which determines biotic use and composition and to which life-history strategies are adapted. Flow enables movement and migration between habitats and exchange of nutrients and materials (Bunn and Arthington, 2002; Jardine et al., 2015). In a river system, the natural periods of both low and high flow (including no-flow events) are important to support the natural function of habitats, their ecological processes and the shaping of biotic communities (King et al., 2015). Through the attenuation of flows, water resource development can lead to impacts across significant distances downstream of the development, including into coastal and near-shore marine habitats (Broadley et al., 2020; Pollino et al., 2018). Altered longitudinal and lateral connectivity River flow facilitates the exchange of biota, materials, nutrients and carbon along the river and into the coastal areas (longitudinal connectivity), as well as between the river and the floodplain (lateral connectivity) (Pettit et al., 2017; Warfe et al., 2011). Physical barriers such as weirs, dams and causeways, or a reduction in the magnitude of flows (and the duration or frequency), can affect longitudinal and lateral connectivity, changing the rate or timing of exchanges (Crook et al., 2015). These impacts can include changes in species’ migration and movement patterns as well as altered erosion processes and discharges of nutrients into rivers and coastal waters (Brodie and Mitchell, 2005). Seasonal patterns and rates of connection and disconnection caused by flood pulses are important for providing seasonal habitat and enabling movement of biota into new habitats and their return to refuge habitats during drier conditions (Crook et al., 2020). Habitat modification and loss Water resource development can cause direct loss of habitat. For example, artificially creating a lake (inundated) habitat behind an impoundment results in loss of terrestrial and stream habitat. Agricultural development converts existing habitat to more-intensive agriculture. Infrastructure, including roads and canals, can fragment terrestrial habitat or artificially connect aquatic habitats that had been historically separated. Increased invasive and non-native species Water resource development often homogenises flow and flow-related habitats, for example, through changed patterns resulting from capture and release of flows or creation of impoundments for storage and regulation. Invasive species are often at an advantage in such modified habitats (Bunn and Arthington, 2002). Modified landscapes, such as lakes or perennial streams that were previously ephemeral, can be a pathway for introduction of, and support the incidental, accidental or deliberate establishment of, non-native species, including pest plants and fish (Bunn and Arthington, 2002; Close et al., 2012; Ebner et al., 2020). Increased human activity can increase the risk of invasive species being introduced. Synergistic and co-occurring processes both local and global Along with water resource development comes a range of other pressures and threats, including increases in fishing; vehicles; habitat fragmentation; pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals; erosion; degradation due to increased stock pressure; and changed fire regimes, climate change and other human disturbances, both direct and indirect. Some of these pressures are the direct result of changes in land use associated with or accompanying water resource development. Other pressures may occur regionally or globally and act synergistically with water resource development and agricultural development to increase the risk to species and their habitats (Craig et al., 2017; Pettit et al., 2012). To describe the ecology of the Southern Gulf catchments and discuss the likely impacts of future water resource development on this system, a suite of ecological assets has been selected (Table 3-2). Assets are classified as species, species groups or habitats. They can be considered as either partially or fully dependent on fresh water, or terrestrial or marine dependent upon freshwater flows (or services provided by freshwater flows). This chapter considers a key subset of assets, as listed in Table 3-2. More information on the ecological assets of the Southern Gulf catchments and their distribution is available in the companion technical report on ecological assets (Merrin et al., 2024). Chapter 7 presents results of the modelling and analysis to explore the potential of change to these assets as a consequence of water resource development. Table 3-2 Freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecological assets with freshwater flow dependences in the Southern Gulf catchments An asterisk (*) represents an asset outlined in this report. All listed species, species groups and habitat assets are detailed in the companion technical report on ecological assets (Merrin et al., 2024). For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au. 3.2.2 Ecological assets in the Southern Gulf catchments Northern Australia’s rivers, floodplains and coastal regions contain high biodiversity, including at least 170 fish species, 150 waterbird species, 30 aquatic and semi-aquatic reptile species, 60 amphibian species and 100 macroinvertebrate families (van Dam et al., 2008). The ecology of the freshwater systems is supported by, and adapted to, the highly seasonal flow regimes of the wet-dry tropics. Water resource development and climate change threaten to affect these habitats and species. This section provides a synthesis of the prioritised assets relevant to the Southern Gulf catchments for the purpose of understanding potential ecological outcomes of flow regime change. Table 3-2 lists the assets evaluated in the Southern Gulf catchments ecology activity. Floodplain wetlands Wetlands in the wet-dry tropics of Australia have great conservation value (Finlayson et al., 1999) and are one of the most diverse aquatic ecosystems in Australia (Douglas et al., 2005). Wetlands provide permanent, temporary or refugia habitat for both local and migratory waterbirds (van Dam et al., 2008) (Figure 3-6), spawning grounds and nurseries for floodplain-dependent fish (Ward and Stanford, 1995), and habitat for many other aquatic and riparian species (van Dam et al., 2008). Floodplain wetlands are an important source of nutrients and organic carbon, driving primary and secondary productivity (Junk et al., 1989; Nielsen et al., 2015). Wetlands also provide a range of additional ecosystem services, including water quality improvement, carbon sequestration and flood mitigation (Mitsch et al., 2015). For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au. Figure 3-6 Brolgas flying into the sunset at Lake Moondarra Photo: CSIRO Hydrological regimes are fundamental to sustaining the ecological characteristics of rivers and their associated floodplains (Pettit et al., 2017). In the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia, the ecology of wetlands is often highly dependent on the seasonal rainfall–runoff pattern and the associated low and high flows from rivers (Pidgeon and Humphrey, 1999; Warfe et al., 2011). These flows are important drivers of floodplain wetland ecosystem structure and processes (Close et al., 2012; Warfe et al., 2011). Changes to these flow characteristics are likely to have a significant impact on the aquatic biota (Close et al., 2012). The timing, duration, extent and magnitude of wetland inundation have the greatest impact on the ecological values, which include species diversity, productivity and habitat structure (Close et al., 2015). Under the Ramsar Convention (Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2004), wetlands are defined as: areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. The NT Government defines wetlands as including coastal saltmarshes, mangrove swamps, freshwater lakes and swamps, floodplains, freshwater ponds, springs and saline lakes, that can be permanent, seasonal or intermittent, and can be natural or artificial (NT Government, 2020). For delineation, this Assessment considers areas within the river channel to be inchannel waterholes rather than wetlands (see Merrin et al. (2024)). Similarly, marine or saline habitats including mangroves and coastal saltmarshes (salt flats) are also treated as separate assets in this project (see Saltpans and salt flats below and Merrin et al. (2024)). The Southern Gulf catchments have 13 nationally significant wetlands listed under the DIWA (Table 3-3 and Figure 3-7) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). There are no Ramsar-listed wetlands within the Southern Gulf catchments. Table 3-3 Nationally important wetlands in the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au. The Wentworth Aggregation is found in the Settlement Creek catchment (Figure 3-7) and covers an area of 82,306 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). It contains the full range of wetland types (estuarine, lacustrine (lake), palustrine (marshes and swamps) and riverine) and is considered to have high wilderness value due to its remoteness. The main habitat types are estuarine salt flats and saltmarshes (55.6% of the wetland area); coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree swamp – Melaleuca spp. and Eucalyptus spp. (13.5% of the wetland area); coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamp (7.2% of the wetland area); and estuarine – mangroves and related tree communities (6.7% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). It is considered an important wetland for waterbirds (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The Marless Lagoon Aggregation spans the Settlement Creek and Nicholson River catchments (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 166,948 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). It has extensive palustrine wetlands (97.6% of the wetland area) in which the dominant habitat type is coastal and sub-coastal non-floodplain tree swamp – Melaleuca spp. and Eucalyptus spp. (97.3% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-7 Land subject to inundation (potential floodplain wetlands) and important wetlands in the Southern Gulf catchments Dataset: Geoscience Australia (2017); Department of the Environment and Energy (2010) Bluebush Swamp is located in the Nicholson catchment (Figure 3-7) and is 879 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). It is a scrub–shrub wetland with Acacia stenophylla as the dominant species, and it has areas of shallow, open water. Bluebush Swamp provides habitat for waterbirds in the late wet season and in autumn and spring (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Lawn Hill Gorge is located within Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) in the Nicholson catchment (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 1133 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Prior to being gazetted as a national park, it was extensively grazed, and feral pigs and other invasive animals continue to affect the area. Various recreational activities are available within the national park, although visitor numbers are controlled. Indigenous usage of the area dates back between 17,000 and 30,000 years (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The gorge itself is located on Lawn Hill Creek, which is fed by groundwater from the Thorntonia Limestone and also receives wet-season flushes (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a; Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2023a). Musselbrook Creek Aggregation is located in the Nicholson catchment (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 45,114 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The dominant habitat types are coastal and sub-coastal floodplain tree swamp – Melaleuca spp. and Eucalyptus spp. (34.6% of the wetland area), arid and semi-arid tree swamp (floodplain) (32.8% of the wetland area) and river (27.6% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). The area has been extensively grazed by cattle and feral horses (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Nicholson Delta Aggregation is located in the Nicholson catchment (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 63,646 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). This aggregation has a fresh water – saltwater gradient, as estuarine waters flood the salt flats and tidal channels, particularly during the dry season. There is also a series of freshwater wetlands (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The main habitat is estuarine – salt flats and saltmarshes (40.8% of the wetland area) and river (31.1% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). The wetlands in this aggregation are a mix of permanent, semi-permanent and seasonal wetlands, and they provide refugia habitat for waterbirds in the dry season (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Thorntonia Aggregation is located in the catchment of the Gregory River (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 298,629 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). It is partly within the Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) and contains the internationally significant Riversleigh fossil field. It has deep permanent channels which are spring fed and shallower seasonal channels. The perennial channels provide refugia habitat in the dry season (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The Gregory River DIWA site spans the Nicholson and Leichhardt catchments (Figure 3-7) and has an area of 26,630 ha (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). It is the largest perennial river in semi-arid and arid Queensland that is spring fed with additional flow from runoff. The area is used for recreational purposes, including camping, canoeing and fishing, and has had extensive cattle grazing. Freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) are very common (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Lake Julius is an artificial lake located in the Leichhardt catchment (Figure 3-7). Lake Julius is on the Leichhardt River and has a surface area of 1255 ha at full supply. It was created when the Julius Dam was completed in 1976 and provides backup supplies to Lake Moondarra as well as supplying water to Cloncurry Council and mines in the North West Minerals Province (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The lake is used for recreational purposes, including boating and fishing, and the land surrounding the lake is used to graze cattle. As a permanent lake, it provides important habitat for waterbirds during the dry season. It also supports a variety of freshwater fish, red-clawed crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) and freshwater crocodiles (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Lake Moondarra (Figure 3-7) is an artificial lake, completed in 1957 and raised in 1971, of 2190 ha and located just outside the town of Mount Isa in the Leichhardt catchment (Figure 3-7). Situated on the Leichhardt River, it is upstream of Lake Julius. As a permanent water body, it provides refugia habitat for waterbirds and is considered an important recreation area, allowing for both boating and fishing. Cattle grazing is extensive, often resulting in damage at the water’s edge. Seasonal turbidity is an issue (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Buffalo Lake Aggregation has an area of 1911 ha and is located in the Morning Inlet catchment (Figure 3-7) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The lake is shallow (<1 m depth) and ephemeral, flooding in extreme wet seasons and drying out completely most dry seasons. It is also occasionally flooded by tidal surges (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The dominant habitats are coastal and sub-coastal floodplain lakes (69.0% of the wetland area) and coastal and sub-coastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamps (24.3% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). The lake habitat provides important habitat for waterbirds, including migratory species. The area has been extensively grazed (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Southern Gulf Aggregation is the largest continuous estuarine wetland in Australia at 545,577 ha, and it spans all four of the Assessment catchments (Figure 3-7) (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Dominated by estuarine – salt flats and saltmarshes (77.3% of the wetland area) and estuarine – mangroves and related tree communities (20.4% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022), the area is governed by estuarine tides, and during the wet season, freshwater flooding (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The wetlands located along the inland edges of the aggregation are all seasonal and are brackish. The area is considered one of the most important shorebirds sites in Australia (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Forsyth Island Wetlands are located on Forsyth Island, about 10 km off the coast of Bayley Point. It is an estuarine wetland with important seagrass habitats in Government Bay (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). The habitat consists of estuarine – salt flats and saltmarshes (60.9% of the wetland area) and estuarine – mangroves and related tree communities (39.1% of the wetland area) (Queensland Department of Environment and Science, 2022). The island itself is an Indigenous reserve, with the area, including the surrounding waters, used for fishing and hunting (Department of Agriculture‚ Water and the Environment, 2021a). Significant parts of the floodplain areas within the Southern Gulf catchments are already incorporated into the existing 13 nationally significant wetlands (see land subject to inundation Figure 3-7). There is additional floodplain on Musselbrook Creek, extending beyond the Musselbrook Creek Aggregation. There is also additional floodplain near the Wentworth Aggregation ( Saltpans and salt flats Saltpans and salt flats are intertidal areas that are devoid of marine plants and are located between mangroves and saltmarsh meadows. Saltmarshes (Figure 3-8) occur in the supra-littoral zones, which are inundated only infrequently by the tide and where subsequent water evaporation leaves behind expanses of minerals and salts (Cotin et al., 2011). Inundation of saltpans mostly occurs during the annual wet season when large tides and rainfall surface runoff ponds as shallow wetted areas within the saltpans and shallow tidal-cut gutters that intersect them. Despite their infrequent inundation, saltpans provide habitat for some estuarine fish, such as barramundi (Russell and Garrett, 1983) and metapenaeid shrimps (Bayliss et al., 2014) during periods when the tide covers these habitats. Photo of saltpan. For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au. Figure 3-8 This saltpan area in northern Australia is typical in being located between mangrove and saltmarsh areas Photo: Nathan Waltham In northern Australia, saltpan sediments are infused with dormant algae that remain inactive in a desiccated state during the dry season (most of the year). However, during overbank inundation from flooded rivers or extensive rainfall, the saltpan soil algae become active and photosynthesise, increasing nutrient contribution to the ecosystem (Burford et al., 2016). After several days, active algal growth occurs, and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous compounds are produced. Estimates suggest that saltpans can contribute up to an extra 13% of ecosystem primary productivity depending on the extend of saltpan inundation during the wet season (Burford et al., 2016). Saltpans would be most productive during high-level overbank flood flows. The inundation of saltpans expands the habitat available to estuarine benthic fish and crustaceans that can tolerate euryhaline conditions. In northern Australia, coastal saltpans can extend tens to hundreds of square kilometres. They provide habitat for a range of benthic fauna (Dias et al., 2014), which are an important food source for high-order consumers, including shorebird species that use saltpans as resting and/or feeding areas during their migration, which can include long flights to Asia (Cotin et al., 2011; Lei et al., 2018; Rocha et al., 2017). The extent of saltpans in Australia is unknown, though they are common and extensive in more arid coastal areas, most notably in northern Australia (Duke et al., 2019). The northern Australian coastline extends for thousands of kilometres and is relatively pristine; low beach profiles backed by extensive saltpans, possibly 5 to 10 km inland, are characteristic of hundreds of kilometres of coastline (Short, 2022). Despite limited tidal exchange, saltpans provide important habitat resources for migratory birds that access these areas for feeding and shelter (Lei et al., 2018). In addition, saltpans provide erosion and sediment accumulation opportunities in estuaries as well as carbon sequestration services. Saltpans in the Southern Gulf estuaries are extensive and located behind tide-dominated beaches (Figure 3-10) (Short, 2020). They are mostly restricted to a tidal inundation area on the landward side of the mangroves that line the main river channel, but they also occur adjacent to Buffalo and Sweet swamps. The spatial data presented illustrate the extent of saltpans in these catchments, but the extent was presumably increased as part of the wide-scale dieback of mangroves in the Gulf of Carpentaria between late 2015 and early 2016 (Duke et al., 2017). There has been no targeted scientific survey of fish and crustacean communities over the saltpans of the Southern Gulf catchments marine region, presumably because they are located so high in the intertidal zone and are only infrequently covered with tidal water. Also, the catchments are very remote, which leads to difficulties with access and sampling. Figure 3-9 Australian bustards are common in grasslands and woodlands across northern Australia Photo: CSIRO – Nathan Dyer Saltpans, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\7_Ecology\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Ec-S-506_CR_Salt_Flats_v10.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-10 Location of saltpans in the Southern Gulf catchments marine region Data source: Geoscience Australia (2017) Sawfish (Pristis and Anoxypristis spp.) Sawfish belong to the order Pristiformes. They are characterised by a distinctive tooth-lined rostrum or ‘saw’. As adults, sawfish can attain very large sizes, ranging from 5 to 7 m in total length. They are widely distributed in northern Australian marine waters, although they are not necessarily abundant (Last and Stevens, 2008; Morgan, 2011; Stevens et al., 2009). These species can migrate at landscape and oceanic scales through their life cycle. Inshore waters, including bays and estuaries, are important nursery grounds for neonates and juvenile sawfish up until about 4 to 6 years of age (Morgan, 2011; Morgan et al., 2017; Peverell, 2005). Sawfish adults primarily inhabit tropical and subtropical coastal marine waters (Dulvy et al., 2016; Last and Stevens, 2008). Globally, sawfish are considered one of the most threatened marine taxa (Dulvy et al., 2016). Four species of sawfish occur in Australian waters, all listed as being of conservation significance at both national and international levels. The freshwater or large tooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), the green sawfish (P. zijsron) and the dwarf sawfish (P. clavata) are all listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act. The narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata) is listed as Migratory under the EPBC Act, and because it is also listed in Appendix I and II under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), it has similar protection status under the EPBC Act. Additionally, sawfish hold significant cultural and spiritual relevance to Indigenous Australians (Ebner et al., 2016). Sawfish are vulnerable to multiple threats, partly due to their morphology (the shape of their rostra) and behaviour and partly due to their life-history characteristics: long lives, slow growth and low reproductive rates, late maturation, relatively low abundance and high specificity of different habitats in different life stages (Peverell, 2005; Phillips et al., 2017; Stevens et al., 2009). Their habitats often overlap with coastal fisheries, making them highly susceptible to capture in gill-net and trawl fisheries and recreational fishing (because of the shape of their rostra). Sawfish rostra have been collected as trophies for decades (McDavitt, 1996), and there is a growing demand for live sawfish for display in public aquaria (Buckley et al., 2020; Compagno et al., 2006). Recent decades have seen high fishing mortality (Fry et al., 2021). Other pressures include cumulative impacts from climate change, habitat loss, artificial passage barriers and declining water quality that may have a significant impact on the movements of sawfish between freshwater and estuarine environments. The Gulf of Carpentaria is a haven ecosystem for the four recognised species of sawfish found in Australia, with observations occurring across the study area. Despite regional population declines due to fishing mortality over the past 50 years, northern Australia has viable populations of sawfish in contrast to sawfish populations elsewhere in Indo-Pacific region waters. Catfish (order Siluriformes) Catfish are a highly diverse group that inhabit both inland and coastal waters. The group includes freshwater species, marine species, and some that move between the river and the estuary (Pusey et al., 2020). Catfish in northern Australia belong to two families: Plotosidae (19 species in total) and Ariidae (17 species). Plotosidae are found in the Eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean and their tributary rivers, whereas Ariidae are a global family found in both freshwater and marine habitats. Most catfish are bottom-feeding omnivores. They feed on algae, submerged macrophytes, invertebrates and smaller fish. Species within the Ariidae are slow growing and generally large bodied. The family is notable for its reproductive traits: it has the largest eggs of any teleost group (>10 mm), and males exhibit strong parental care behaviour, incubating the eggs and developing the young in the mouth for up to 5 weeks (Pusey et al., 2004). Because of the tendency to feed opportunistically, ariid catfish can be very competitive, consuming a variety and large volumes of food. Thus, they can make up a lot of biomass in a catchment (Crook et al., 2020). The key plotosid species are reasonably tolerant of high temperature and low dissolved oxygen levels, but fish kills at very low dissolved oxygen levels have been reported (Bishop, 1980). The key threat to the two dominant Neosilurus species is potential flow barriers. Plotosidae need high flows to trigger spawning migration, and they require a barrier-free passage to spawning grounds in the headwater streams. While not as important as barramundi or sooty grunters (Hephaestus fuliginosus), the fork-tailed catfish (Neoarius graeffei) has considerable importance as a subsistence fish for Indigenous communities (Finn and Jackson, 2011; Jackson et al., 2011). The modelled potential distribution of the fork-tailed catfish is provided in Figure 3-12. The Southern Gulf catchments support catfish from both families with seven species of Ariidae and four species of Plotosidae. The ariid catfish include Sciades leptaspis, Amissidens hainesi, Hexanematichthys mastersi, Nemapteryx armiger, Plicofollis argyropleuron, Neoarius berneyi, Neoarius graeffei, Neoarius midgleyi, Neosilurus ater, Neosilurus hyrtlii, Porochilus argenteus and Sciades paucus. The larger-bodied ariid catfish like N. graeffei, N. berneyi and S. paucus are mainly found on the main stems of the Leichhardt, Gregory and Nicholson rivers. The usually smaller- bodied Neosilurus species are mainly found in smaller tributaries. Figure 3-11 The O’Shannassy River – one of the northern Australian rivers where catfish are found Photo: CSIRO – Nathan Dyer Catfish distribution, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\7_Ecology\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Ec-S-538_CR_SDM_catfish_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-12 Modelled potential species distribution for fork-tailed catfish (Neoarius graeffei) in the Southern Gulf catchments Probability of occurrence is based upon a general linear model. Observation locations of other catfish species is provided in Merrin et al. (2024). Swimming, grazing and diving waterbirds The swimmers, grazers and divers group comprises species with a relatively high level of dependence on semi-open, open and deeper water environments. These species commonly swim when foraging (including diving, filtering, dabbling and grazing) or when taking refuge. In northern Australia, this group comprises 49 species from 11 families, including ducks, geese, swans, grebes, pelicans, darters, cormorants, shags, swamphens, gulls, terns, noddies and jacanas. This group can be further broken down into the subgroups: • diving swimmers – for example, cormorants, pelicans, grebes • aerial divers – for example, terns, gulls, noddies • grazing swimmers – for example, swans, coots, swamphens, ducks, geese. These species breed in Australia and may be sedentary, nomadic, migratory or partially migratory. Nesting generally occurs seasonally, usually in dense vegetation such as emergent macrophytes, trees and shrubs (Garnett et al., 2015). Nests are usually independent or semi-colonial, and while breeding is usually seasonal, it can be stimulated by flooding or large rainfall events (Kingsford and Norman, 2002). Species diets may be piscivorous, omnivorous or herbivorous (Barker and Vestjens, 1990). Changes in water depth, water extent or water duration can expose nests to predation or drowning, or reduce food availability, resulting in nest failure (McGinness, 2016; Poiani, 2006). The magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata) (Figure 3-13) is one example of the swimmers, grazers and divers group, and while it is an iconic species in northern Australia, it is also the source of some conflict with humans when resources are limited (Corriveau et al., 2022; Frith and Davies, 1961; Traill et al., 2010). The magpie goose is an ancient and unique species of particular importance to Indigenous Peoples, providing eggs, meat and feathers. This species feeds on aquatic vegetation and often nests colonially (Marchant and Higgins, 1990). While currently abundant in northern Australia, wild magpie goose populations have largely disappeared from southern Australia due to human-driven change such as habitat destruction and hunting (Nye et al., 2007). Climate change is likely to enhance the impacts of such changes on magpie geese in northern Australia (Poiani, 2006; Traill et al., 2009). Photo of magpie goose. For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au. Figure 3-13 Magpie goose perched on a fallen tree branch Magpie geese are a representative species of the swimmers, grazers and divers group. Photo: CSIRO 3.2.3 Environmental protection A number of aquatic and terrestrial species in the Southern Gulf catchments are currently listed as Critically endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable under the EPBC Act, and by the wildlife classification systems of the NT and Queensland governments, which are based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (Figure 3-14). If a proposed development is predicted to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance (e.g. populations of a nationally listed species, communities, migratory species or wetlands of importance), it requires approval to proceed under the EPBC Act (Table 3-4). This approval is required irrespective of local government policies. The Australian Government Protected Matters Search Tool lists approximately 40 Threatened species for the Southern Gulf catchments, four of which are listed as Critically endangered. Also listed are 64 migratory species. EPBC species, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\7_Ecology\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Ec-S-531_CR_Listed species_v7.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-14 Distribution of species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and by the NT and Queensland governments in the Southern Gulf catchments Datasets: Department of Environment Parks and Water Security (2019); Department of Environment and Science (2023) WildNet; Department of the Environment and Energy (2010); Atlas of Living Australia (2023 a,b) Table 3-4 Definition of threatened categories under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the NT wildlife classification system, and the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †The NT wildlife classification categories are based on the IUCN Red List categories and criteria. An extract of each category is presented here. For the full definition see https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/192538/red-list-guidelines.pdf. 3.3 Demographic and economic profile 3.3.1 Introduction This section describes the current social and economic characteristics primarily of the Queensland portion of the Southern Gulf catchments in terms of the demographics of local communities (Section 3.3.2), current industries and land use (Section 3.3.3), and existing infrastructure of transport networks, supply chains, utilities and community infrastructure (Section 3.3.4). Together these characteristics describe the built and human resources that would serve as the foundation upon which any new development in the Southern Gulf catchments would be built. Unless otherwise stated, the material in this section is based on findings described in the companion technical report on agricultural viability and social economics (Webster et al., 2024a). For specific details related to the NT context, readers are directed to consult the Victoria River Water Resource Assessment technical report on agricultural viability and socio-economics (Webster et al., 2024b) and the Roper River Water Resource Assessment technical report on agricultural viability and socio-economics (Stokes et al., 2023). 3.3.2 Demographics The Southern Gulf catchments comprise four mainland river catchments (Settlement, Nicholson, Leichhardt and Morning Inlet) plus the larger islands of the Mornington Island ‘catchment’ in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The study area falls mainly within Queensland (79%), but the western part of the study area falls within the NT (21%). Within Queensland, the catchments comprise the entire Mornington, Doomadgee and Burke local government areas together with around half of the Mount Isa local government area and smaller parts of the adjacent local government areas of Carpentaria and Cloncurry. Within the NT, the catchments comprise parts of Barkly and Roper local government areas. At the state and territory level, the catchments include part of the electoral division of Traeger in Queensland and a small part of the Barkly electoral division within the NT. At the federal level, the catchments form part of the Division of Kennedy in Queensland and part of the Division of Lingiari in the NT. The population density of the Southern Gulf catchments is low at one person per 4.8 km2, which is about one-fourteenth that of Queensland and one-sixteenth that of Australia as a whole. The Assessment area contains one significant urban area (population >10,000 people): Mount Isa, a city of over 18,000 residents, was developed to support the mining of the extensive deposits in the surrounding area (particularly for lead, silver, copper and zinc). There are also a number of small towns and communities within the catchments, including Burketown and Doomadgee, and on the Wellesley Islands. Of these smaller settlements, only Doomadgee (population 1387 as at the 2021 Census) has a population greater than 1000. The nearest major cities and population centres are the cities of Townsville and Cairns, respectively, approximately 1000 and 1100 km from Mount Isa. The Queensland capital city of Brisbane is approximately 1925 km from Mount Isa. The demographic profile of the catchments, based on data from the 2021, 2016, 2011 and 2006 censuses, is shown in Table 3-5. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports statistics by defined statistical geographic regions (such as the nested hierarchy of statistical areas), but none of those regions closely approximates the Southern Gulf catchments. Instead, data are shown for: (i)Carpentaria (ABS Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) region 315021404), being the single region thatencompasses the largest geographic area within the boundaries of the catchments ( Table 3-5 Major demographic indicators for the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †Weighted averages of scores for SA2 regions falling wholly or partially within the boundaries of the catchments. Sources: ABS (2006, 2011, 2016, 2021a) Census data ABS Statistical area for analysis map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-505_Map_Australia_SoG_tourism_SA2_v1.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-15 Boundaries of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) regions used for demographic data in this analysis Inset shows the red square on the main map. Residents of the Southern Gulf catchments tend to be younger and more likely to identify as Indigenous than the typical resident of Queensland and of Australia as a whole. Incomes differ from the national and state mean, being higher than the state and national averages in Mount Isa but lower in the remainder of the study area. The people in the Southern Gulf catchments are predominantly younger (median age around 31) than is typical for Queensland and the country as a whole (median age around 38); however, the trend from 2011 and 2016 to 2021 suggests that the median age of the Southern Gulf catchments is slightly increasing. The population contains a much larger proportion of Indigenous Peoples (27.3%) than Queensland (4.6%) and the country overall (3.2%). The proportion of Indigenous Peoples varies across the study area: the Mount Isa SA2 region has a much smaller proportion than the remainder of the catchments, although at 21.4% Mount Isa is higher than that for Queensland and Australia. Beyond Mount Isa, the proportion of Indigenous Peoples within the population exceeds 60%. The heterogeneity of the Assessment area is most clearly demonstrated when focusing on incomes. The median weekly household income for the Mount Isa SA2 region ($2236) is substantially above that for Queensland ($1675) and Australia ($1746). In contrast, incomes for the remainder of the study area are substantially lower with median weekly income in the Carpentaria SA2 region being only $1279. A similar pattern is observed for households on low incomes. Excluding Mount Isa, the proportion of households on low incomes (i.e. less than $650/week) in the Carpentaria SA2 region was far higher, and the proportion on high incomes (more than $3000/week) far lower, than the proportion for Queensland and for the country as a whole. The opposite applies to the Mount Isa SA2 region. The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) metrics are presented in Table 3-6. The Southern Gulf catchments fall below the national mean for each metric. The remote Carpentaria SA2 region, which comprises a large geographic area of the study area, is classified within the first decile for each index, indicating the region is scoring below 90% of the rest of the country on each of the measures. However, the Mount Isa SA2 region, where most of the population live, scores in the 2nd to 4th decile, depending on the specific index. Overall, weighted by population, the catchments are in the 2nd decile for the Index of Economic Resources (IER), the 3rd decile for Index of Education and Occupation (IEO), and the 4th decile for the remaining indices. Thus, while the level of disadvantage varies across the catchments, the different components and overall scores are all disadvantaged compared to the mean for Australia as a whole. Table 3-6 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) scores of relative socio-economic advantage for the Southern Gulf catchments Scores are relativised to a national mean of 1000, with higher scores indicating greater advantage. For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †Weighted averages of scores for SA2 regions falling wholly or partially within the boundaries of the catchments. §Based on both the incidence of advantage and disadvantage. *Based purely on indicators of disadvantage. Source: ABS (2023) 3.3.3 Current industries and land use Employment The economic structure of the combined Southern Gulf catchments differs from that of Queensland and Australia as a whole in having lower unemployment rates and a higher proportion of the adult population (aged 15 and older) within the labour force (see participation rates in Table 3-7). However, the employment rates within study area are highly heterogeneous, and data for the Mount Isa SA2 region (entirely within the study area) are very different to the data for the rest of the study area. For example, the Carpentaria SA2 region, which constitutes the greatest area of the Southern Gulf catchments, has far higher unemployment rates and far lower participation rates than the Queensland and national averages (Table 3-7). The Mount Isa SA2 region provides a contrasting story with far lower unemployment and far higher participation rates than those of Queensland and Australia as a whole. Table 3-7 Key employment data for the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †Weighted averages of scores for SA2 regions falling wholly or partially within the boundaries of the catchments. Source: ABS (2006, 2011, 2016, 2021a) Census data There are also noticeable differences in the industries providing the most jobs within the region (Table 3-7), both within the catchments and compared to Queensland and Australia. ‘Healthcare and social assistance’, ‘Education and training’ and ‘Retail trade’ are important employers in the region and nationally. However, ‘Construction’ and ‘Professional, scientific and technical services’ feature within the top five industries by employment across the nation on average but are far less significant in the Southern Gulf catchments. ‘Public administration and safety’ is relatively more important to the employment prospects of workers in the Southern Gulf catchments than the national average. However, ‘Mining’ is the most important industry in the Southern Gulf catchments overall, and in the Mount Isa SA2 region within the catchments. It provides more than double the employment provided by ‘Healthcare and social assistance’ professions, the next most important employer in the region. The heterogeneity of the region is important to note, however, as mining is concentrated in the Mount Isa SA2 region (where most of the population is concentrated) but is of negligible importance across the rest of the catchments. Importantly to this Assessment, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ does not feature within the top five industries for the Southern Gulf catchments. However, the difference across the catchments is evident when the importance of agriculture in different parts of the catchments is considered. Overall, the proportion of employment in the study area provided by agriculture was only 2.7% in 2021, similar to the rate for Queensland (2.6%) and Australia as a whole (2.3%). However, excluding Mount Isa, agriculture provided 17.5% of employment for the rest of the study area and 17.1% in the Carpentaria SA2 region compared with just 0.3% in the Mount Isa region. Over the last three censuses (2021, 2016 and 2011), the percentage of employment from the agricultural sector nationally has been reported as 2.3%, 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively, and for Queensland, 2.6%, 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively, over the same years. That is, the proportion of employment in the agricultural sector has been small and fairly consistent. A broadly similar pattern (fairly consistent and of similar magnitude) is shown within the Southern Gulf catchments overall, with the sector having provided 2.7% of employment in 2021, 2.3% in 2016 and 2.5% in 2011. The structural differences across the Assessment area are notable, as are the far higher dependencies on mining in Mount Isa and on agriculture across the rest of the catchments than are found in Queensland or across Australia. These differences can significantly affect the regional economic benefits that can result from development projects initiated within the region compared to development projects that may be initiated elsewhere. Land use The Southern Gulf catchments cover an area of about 108,200 km2, much of which is used for grazing (77%) (Figure 3-16) based on ACLUMP data current to 2017 for the NT and 2015 for Queensland. Of the remaining area, nearly all is conservation and protected land (16%). A further 4% is classified as water and wetlands, most of which are marine plains and tidal areas located along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Intensive agriculture and cropping make up a very small portion of the catchment: rainfed and irrigated agriculture and intensive animal production together comprise less than just 0.04% of the area of the catchments. The other intensive localised land uses are transport, communications, services, utilities and urban infrastructure (0.06% of the area of the catchments) and mining (0.06%). While not considered a land use under the land use mapping (because it is a tenure) it is worth noting that Aboriginal freehold title makes up 12% of the Southern Gulf catchments. This land is held under the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALRA) in the NT and the Queensland Aboriginal Land Act 1991, including deeds of grant in trust (DOGIT), in Queensland. The title is inalienable freehold, which cannot be sold and is granted to Aboriginal Land Trusts (NT) or trustees (Queensland), which have the power to grant an interest over the land. Land use ACLUMP map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-514_landuse_v4_new_data.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-16 Land use classification for the Southern Gulf catchments Note: land use data shown for the NT on this map is current to 2017 and 2015 for Queensland. Sources: NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (2022); Queensland Government (2021b) Value of agriculture The estimated values of agricultural production for the Southern Gulf catchments and for Queensland as a whole are given in Table 3-8. The Assessment area provides a small proportion of the agricultural production of the state as a whole. The value of production is almost entirely derived from livestock, with a small amount of revenue from crops (predominantly from hay) (Table 3-8). The most recent annual survey data from the ABS describing the value of agriculture by different types of industries (2021–22 survey) are only available at a much larger scale (state and territory level) than the Southern Gulf catchments, making it difficult to accurately estimate the value of agricultural products within the catchments. Hence estimates have been made using the 2020–21 agricultural Census data (Table 3-8), which were published at a finer spatial scale (SA2 level, as used for the socio-economic and demographic catchments estimates). Table 3-8 Value of agricultural production estimated for the Southern Gulf catchments and the value of agricultural production for Queensland for 2020–21 For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †Weighted averages of scores for SA2 regions falling wholly or partially within the boundaries of the catchments. Source: ABS (2022) Value of agricultural commodities in 2020–21 Beef cattle production Agricultural production in the Southern Gulf catchments is dominated by extensive grazing of beef cattle, valued at $242.7 million in 2020–21 (Table 3-8) and covering about 77% of the Assessment area. Queensland’s beef cattle industry is the largest in Australia, and many Southern Gulf catchment properties turn off young animals (post weaning) to southern fattening properties for domestic and export beef. Sheep were the favoured stock in the earliest days of grazing. Not reaching profitable wool export expectations due to harsh climate, disease (liver fluke, footrot and lung worm), spear grass (Heteropogon spp.) and blowfly incidence, sheep were abandoned in favour of cattle, which have been more successful. The first stations in the Assessment area were formally taken up in the early 1860s. The catchments in this Assessment do not match any stand-alone socio-economic or biogeographical regionalisations used by the cattle industry. However, published information from the ‘Northern Downs’ in Queensland to the south-east of the Southern Gulf (Bowen et al., 2020), the ‘Northern Gulf’ in Queensland directly to the east of the Southern Gulf (Bowen et al., 2019; Rolfe et al., 2016) and the ‘Gulf’ region, encompassing that part of the Assessment area within the NT (Cowley, 2014) have been used below and in Section 4.3.9 to describe the cattle industry within the Southern Gulf catchments. The typical beef production system in the area is a cow-calf operation with sale animals targeted to suit live export, slaughter and the United States grinding beef markets (Bowen et al., 2019; Bowen et al., 2020). A number of properties send cattle to properties further south for backgrounding and fattening. Some of these properties are owned under the one enterprise, with Rolfe et al. (2016) finding a mean of 2.2 properties per business within a survey of 18 properties in the Northern Gulf (Rolfe et al., 2016). Bowen et al. (2020) report that many businesses operate a breeding property in the Northern Gulf region in association with a growing property in the Northern Downs. However, their conclusion was that it was more profitable to turn off live export steers in the Northern Gulf and feed-on steers from the more productive Northern Downs (450 to 480 kg liveweight). The within-year variation produced by the wet-dry climate is the main determinant for cattle production. Native pasture growth is dependent on rainfall; therefore, pasture growth is highest during the January to March period. During the dry season, the total standing biomass and the nutritive value of the vegetation declines. Changes in cattle liveweight closely follow this pattern with higher growth rates in the wet season than the dry season. Indeed, in many cases cattle lose liveweight and body condition throughout the dry season until the next pulse of growth initiated by wet-season rains. A large area of land is needed to maintain one unit of cattle (typically termed an AE, or adult equivalent). This carrying capacity of land is determined primarily by the soil (and landscape) type, the mean annual rainfall and its seasonality, and the consequent native vegetation type. Carrying capacities in the Southern Gulf catchments typically range from about 3.5 to 14.2 AE/km2 (i.e. 7 to 28.6 ha/AE) on lands in ‘B’ condition (from a four point condition scale where ‘A’ is highest and ‘D’ is lowest). While the cattle typically graze on native pastures, many properties supplementary feed hay to the weaner cohort, partly to train them to be comfortable around humans for management purposes and partly to add to their growth rates during the dry season when the nutritive value and total standing biomass of native pastures is falling. Urea-based supplements and supplements containing phosphorus are fed to a range of age and sex classes of the cattle. The urea-based supplements provide a source of nitrogen for cattle grazing dry-season vegetation. The phosphorus supplements, mostly provided over the wet season, are used because phosphorus is deficient in many areas yet is required for many of the body’s functions, such as building bones, metabolising food and producing milk (Jackson et al., 2012). Winter (1988), working in the Katherine region, found substantial benefits to phosphorus fertilisation and supplementation, particularly in early and late wet-season periods and when grazing pastures which had been oversown with legumes. Cropping Dryland and irrigated agriculture comprise just 0.03% of the Southern Gulf catchments, with a total value of $0.9 million; it all occurs within the Queensland area of the Southern Gulf catchments. Most production is forage sorghum and hay, which are consumed locally. There is at least one small-scale cotton (Gossypium spp.) venture in the catchments. Recent changes to Queensland water regulation and new water releases in the neighbouring catchment of the Flinders River have spurred interest and expertise from growers in southern states to move into northern Australia, focusing on cotton and cereal crops. Horticulture has been proved suitable for the area by Gregory Farm, a 338-ha irrigated development near the Gregory locality where small cropping of mixed vegetables supplied localities in the area in the 1990s. Gregory Farm is currently baling both irrigated forage crops and some seasonal native grasses. Cropping and horticulture have proved to be agronomically suited to the local environment and soils but have been unable to be established as competitive local industries, partly because of difficulties with access to processing, distance to markets and high transport costs. Aquaculture and fisheries There is currently no active aquaculture in the Southern Gulf catchments. The closest aquaculture industry was a small prawn farm established in Karumba (40 km east of the boundary of the catchments) in 1974 and closed the following year for economic reasons (Australian Fisheries, 1975). A comprehensive situational analysis of the aquaculture industry in northern Australia (Cobcroft et al., 2020) identifies key challenges, opportunities and emerging sectors. The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries supports the aquaculture industry, and research from the Northern Fisheries Centre in Cairns retains aquaculture infrastructure for aquaculture research at the Walkamin Research Facility. Offshore, the Southern Gulf catchments drain into one of the most valuable fisheries in the country. The Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) spans the northern Australian coast from Cape Londonderry in WA to Cape York in Queensland (Figure 3-17). Most of the catch is landed at the ports of Darwin, Karumba and Cairns. Over the 10-year period from 2010–11 to 2019–20, the annual value of the catch from the NPF has varied from $65 million to $124 million with a mean of $100 million (Steven et al., 2021). The Southern Gulf catchments flow into the Karumba and West Mornington NPF regions (Figure 3-17), the most productive regions by annual prawn catch. Like many tropical fisheries, the target species exhibit an inshore–offshore larval life cycle and are dependent on inshore habitats, including estuaries, during the postlarval and juvenile phases (Vance et al., 1998). Monsoon-driven freshwater flood flows cue juvenile prawns to emigrate from estuaries to the fishing grounds, and flood magnitude explains 30% to 70% of annual catch variation, depending on the region of the catchments (Buckworth et al., 2014; Vance et al., 2003). Fishing activity for banana prawns and tiger prawns (Penaeus spp.), which combined constitute 80% of the catch, is limited to two seasons: a shorter banana prawn season from April to June and a longer tiger prawn season from August to November. The specific dates of each season are adjusted depending on catch rates. Banana prawns generally form the majority of the annual prawn catch by volume. Key target and by-product species are detailed by Woodhams et al. (2011). The catch is often frozen on-board and sold in domestic and export markets. The NPF is managed by the Australian Government (via the Australian Fisheries Management Authority) through input controls, such as gear restrictions (number of boats and nets, length of nets) and restricted entry. Initially comprising over 200 vessels in the late 1960s, the number of vessels in the NPF has reduced to 52 trawlers and 19 licensed operators after management initiatives including effort reductions and vessel buy-back programs (Dichmont et al., 2008). Given recent efforts to alleviate fishing pressure in the NPF, there is little opportunity for further expansion of the industry. However, it is generally recognised that development of water resources in the Southern Gulf catchments would need to consider the downstream impacts on prawn breeding grounds and the NPF. Commercial barramundi fishing is also found in the study area (Bayliss et al., 2014), but is hard to quantify for the Southern Gulf catchments partly because of the mobility of the industry. Northern prawn fishery regions map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-501_Portrait_map_Australia_NPF_regions_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-17 Regions in the Northern Prawn Fishery and the North West Minerals Province The regions in alphabetical order are Arnhem-Wessels (AW), Coburg-Melville (CM), Fog Bay (FB), Joseph Bonaparte Gulf (JB), Karumba (KA), Mitchell (ML), North Groote (NG), South Groote (SG), Vanderlins (VL), Weipa (WA) and West Mornington (WM). Source: Dambacher et al. (2015) Mining Mining includes extraction of minerals (including coal), petroleum and gas, and quarrying. Mining is well established in Australia, and records indicate that before European settlement Indigenous Peoples quarried different types of stone (particularly gurabaan) and trading materials. In the Southern Gulf catchments, mineral exploration after European settlement dates back to 1882 when Ernest Henry discovered copper at Mount Oxide, north of Mount Isa. Today, mining is the largest industry in the Southern Gulf catchments and in Queensland, was worth $86.5 billion in nominal gross value added (GVA) terms in 2022–23 (Queensland Treasury, 2023). Most of the mining operations in the Southern Gulf catchments involve the extraction of copper, zinc, lead or silver. The North West Minerals Province within the Southern Gulf catchments (Figure 3-17) is considered to be one of the world’s most significant producing areas for base and precious metals (Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, 2021). About 75% of Queensland’s base metal mineral endowment is located in this province. Mines currently operating within the Southern Gulf catchments are mainly in the south and the lower rainfall areas, the largest mines occurring in and near Mount Isa (inset map on Figure 3-18). No mines are currently in operation in the NT portion of the Southern Gulf catchments, though as shown in Mineral occurrence and exploration leases, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\10_Reporting\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_Docs\CR-S-517-SG_Mineral_Occurences_and_exploration_with_existing_mines_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-18 Main commodity mineral occurrences and exploration tenements in the Southern Gulf catchments Sources: NT Geological Survey (2024); NT Government (2024b); Geological Survey of Queensland (2024); Queensland Government Open Data Portal (2024b) Mining is the largest employer in the Southern Gulf catchments with most of the labour force based in Mount Isa (Table 3-7). In 2021, the population of the Mount Isa urban area was just over 18,000, and approximately 30% of the labour force was employed directly in mining in a range of occupations, including management, administration, professional and technical roles, and machinery operations (ABS, 2021c). Table 3-9 provides employee numbers for mines of various sizes. Table 3-9 Indicative numbers for employment in different types of mining operations in the Southern Gulf catchments MINE TYPE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS SOURCE Very large base metal mine and associated processing and refining plants 1000–2000 Glencore (2023a) Mid-sized to large base metal mine 300–600 Evolution Mining (2023), MMG (2024) Mid-sized phosphate mine 200–300 Incitec Pivot (n.d.), Andre and Waterson (2023) Mount Isa region is currently in a period of transition. In 2005 the underground lead mine at Mount Isa closed due to a lack of ore (ABC, 2005), and the Mount Isa Mines underground copper operations are scheduled to cease in 2025 as the remaining mineral resources are deemed economically unviable. These include the underground copper mines Enterprise, X41 and Black Rock. The Lady Loretta zinc mine, a fly-in, fly-out operation 140 km north-west of Mount Isa, is also slated to close in 2025 (Glencore, 2023a). Despite these closures, the global consumptions of copper, zinc and nickel are projected to increase from about 24, 14 and 2 million tonnes in 2019, respectively, to 31, 15 and 4 million tonnes in 2030. Technological advances such as magnets and super magnets, motors, metal alloys, electronic and computing equipment, batteries, catalytic converters, petroleum refining and medical imaging have increased demand for rare earth elements (REEs), a specific group of 17 metals within the critical minerals family. In recognition of the importance of critical and strategic minerals to Australia’s modern technologies, economy and national security, the Australian Government released updated lists of Australia’s critical minerals and strategic materials, and both the NT and Queensland governments have programs to attract investment in critical mineral exploration and infrastructure. Critical minerals and strategic materials currently mined and/or the target of recent and current exploration programs in the Southern Gulf catchments include copper, zinc, phosphorus, the REEs and graphite. See the companion technical report on agricultural viability and socio-economics (Webster et al., 2024a) for a full list of critical minerals and strategic materials. Mineral occurrences for a wide range of commodities have been identified in the Southern Gulf catchments. As shown in Figure 3-18, approximately 68% of the Southern Gulf catchments is covered by mineral or petroleum exploration licences; the highest proportion occur in the Leichhardt catchment, in which 79% is covered by mineral exploration licences. Phosphate occurrences are present across the Southern Gulf catchments with a concentration around Lawn Hill and the Gunpowder localities (Figure 3-18). Exploration for uranium is currently being conducted in the catchments, and occurrences are in the south and north-west (Figure 3-18). There are no operating uranium mines. In Queensland it is government policy not to grant mining leases for uranium, although applications may still be made for mineral development licences or exploration permits for uranium (Queensland Department of Resources, 2021). Uranium mining is permitted in the NT (NT Government, 2024a). Several petroleum exploration bores have been drilled within the catchments. Twenty petroleum exploration bores were drilled on Mornington Island between 1959 and 1961; no hydrocarbons were reported, and the holes were plugged and abandoned. Thirteen wells were drilled in the Queensland part of the study area between 1959 and 2013. Gas was reported in three of the wells. Eleven of the holes are reported to have been plugged and abandoned or suspended and capped; two wells are reported to be current water bores (Queensland Government Open Data Portal, 2024a). One exploration petroleum well was drilled in 1992 in the NT part of the study area close to the western margin of the catchments and is reported to be dry, plugged and abandoned (NT Government, 2024b). Table 3-10 presents resource and reserve data for several major deposits in and on the margins of the Southern Gulf catchments. Table 3-10 Resource and reserve data for several major deposits in and on the margins of the Southern Gulf catchments MINE MASS (million t) MINERAL % MINERAL % MINERAL g/t LIFE OF MINE SOURCE Zinc Lead Silver George Fisher North Mine† (underground) To 2036 Glencore, 2023b, c Measured and indicated resources 2023 164 8.92 3.34 54 Total ore reserves 2023 45 6.84 3.31 54 George Fisher South Mine† (underground) To 2036 Glencore, 2023b, c Measured and indicated resources 2023 55 8.32 5.02 110 Total ore reserves 2023 12.9 6.11 4.76 110 Lady Loretta† (underground) To 2025 Glencore, 2023b, c Measured and indicated resources 2023 5.1 11.29 2.48 54 Total ore reserves 2023 3.5 10.19 2.22 43 Dugald River†* (underground) ≥20 years MMG, 2023, 2024 Measured, indicated and inferred resources 2023 57 11.7 1.6 23 Proved and probable reserves 2023 20 10.8 1.7 40 New Century‡ (tailings and exploration) To 2027 Sibanye Stillwater, 2023 Measured and indicated resources 2022 2.0 5.6 na†† na Proved and probable reserves 2022 6.8 3.0 na na MINE MASS (million t) MINERAL % MINERAL % MINERAL g/t LIFE OF MINE SOURCE Copper Silver Mount Isa Copper† (open-cut and underground) To 2025 Glencore, 2023b, c Measured and indicated Resources 2023 156 1.70 na Total ore reserves 2023 6.5 1.95 na Capricorn Copper† (underground) ≥2034 29Metals, 2022, 2024 Measured, indicated and inferred resources 2023 64.8 1.8 9 Proved and probable reserves 2023 19 1.7 12 Phosphate Paradise South Phosphate§ (open-cut) ≥20 years Andre and Waterson, 2023 Measured, indicated and inferred resources (estimated total deposit) 436.5 9.4 Proven and probable reserves (estimated total deposit) 198.5 12.7 †Resources and reserves reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the Australasian code for reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves (Glencore, 2023b; Joint Ore Reserves Committee, 2012). ‡Resources and reserves reported in accordance with the 2016 edition of The South African code for the reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and mineral reserves (SAMREC, 2016) and subpart 1300 under Regulation S-K of the US Securities Act of 1933 (Sibanye Stillwater, 2023). §Resources and reserves reported in accordance with the 2004 edition of the JORC Code (Joint Ore Reserves Committee, 2004). *The Dugald River mining operations occur outside the Southern Gulf catchments boundary although the tenements associated with the Dugald River project partially occur in the Southern Gulf catchments and the mine water supply is drawn from a purpose-built dam located inside the Leichhardt River catchment with backup water supplied from Lake Julius. ††na = not applicable. Water use in mining and petroleum industries in the Southern Gulf catchments Water is central to the minerals and petroleum industries. Mining uses water in a variety of ways, including for transporting materials, chemical or physical processing, cooling, disposing and storing waste materials, washing, and suppressing dust. Potable water is used for areas that house mining staff (Prosser et al., 2011). Water is also extracted or ‘used’ during de-watering at mines that extend below the water level, such as Century Zinc Mine. Petroleum companies, which use relatively small volumes of water, produce water as a by-product of extraction. Water extracted during de-watering or as a by-product of petroleum extraction must be safely discharged and may need treatment. Water consumption at mining operations is highly variable (Table 3-11). The variations are due to a range of factors, including different mining methods, ore types, ore grades, processing treatments and definitions of water usage. The overall water balance on a site depends on climate conditions, which affect water availability at the site, and the ability to reuse and recycle water within process facilities (Northey and Haque, 2013). While not mined in the Southern Gulf catchments, coal is by far the largest user of water in the mining sector. The water used by mining enterprises does not need to be of potable quality. Table 3-11 Global water consumption in the mining and refining of selected metals PROCESSING STAGE MEAN WATER CONSUMPTION* (m3/tonne of metal) RANGE OF WATER CONSUMPTION§ (m3/tonne of metal) Copper concentrate† 43.235 9.673–99.550 Gold metal‡ 265,861 79,949–477,000 Lead concentrate† 6.597 0.528–11.754 Manganese concentrate† 1.404 1.390–1.410 Palladium metal‡ 210,713 56,779–327,874 Platinum metal‡ 313,496 169,968–487,876 Uranium concentrate (U3O8)† 2,746 46.2–8,207 Zinc concentrate† 11.93 11.07–24.65 †Metal concentrates are typically produced at the site where the ore is mined. ‡Includes mining, smelting and refining of pure metals, assuming mining and processing are all located within a single region or separate regions but with similar water characteristics. *Mean water consumption values per /tonne of metal equivalent in the concentrates or refined metals. §Minimum and maximum water consumption values per tonne of metal equivalent in the concentrates or refined metals. Source: Meissner (2021) Because water is typically a very small fraction of total input cost, and mining produces high-value products, mining enterprises usually develop their own water supplies, which are often regulated separately to the water entitlement system (Prosser et al., 2011). In the Southern Gulf catchments, however, the concentration of mining and industrial activity resulted in sufficiently high water demand for the construction of large purpose-built reservoirs, including the privately funded Leichhardt Dam (Lake Moondarra) and Julius Dam (Lake Julius, now owned by SunWater). Dams in the Southern Gulf catchments are summarised in Chapter 5. Data on water use by mining in the Southern Gulf catchments are difficult to obtain. As described in Section 3.3.4, water use from Lake Julius between 2017–18 and 2012–22 was estimated to range from 5 to 14 GL/year, and from Lake Moondarra from 14 to 17 GL/year. Because these quantities represent a relatively modest proportion of the total supplemented water entitlements, there is scope for existing water storages, including Lake Mary Kathleen (12 GL capacity), which is only used for recreation, to support the expansion of mining activity in the Mount Isa region. Tourism Tourism in the Southern Gulf catchments is in a moderate state of development. Self-drive tourists are the predominant visitor market type in the Southern Gulf catchments, and they represent 87% of visitors to outback Queensland (Outback Queensland Tourism Association, 2021). A strategically promoted transcontinental ‘adventure’ self-drive traveller route, the Savannah Way, connects Cairns (Queensland) to Katherine (NT) then continues to Broome (WA), traversing the Southern Gulf catchments via Burketown (878 km from Cairns), Doomadgee and Hells Gate Roadhouse. Access to much of the Southern Gulf catchments is on unsealed roads. The largest domestic airport is at Mount Isa, which in offering a gateway to the region provides an advantage over many other parts of northern Australia. Smaller commercial regional airports are located in Burketown, Doomadgee and Gununa on Mornington Island, providing regional connections between Mount Isa and Cairns. All airports cater for light aircraft, and the nearest international airports are in Cairns and Darwin. Multiple accommodation options and types are available within and surrounding Burketown and Mount Isa; wet-season closures apply to some camping and accommodation businesses. Key inland attractions for visitors to the Southern Gulf catchments include the iconic Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) and Wugudaji-Adels Grove. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is renowned for its fossil fields containing Gondwanan specimens dating from 25 million years ago (Ma) (Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, 2024b). Visitor attractions and activities throughout the catchments include a range of nature-based activities such as bird and wildlife watching. Popular coastal attractions and activities include river cruises, four-wheel- drive cultural tours, hot-air ballooning, fishing charters and astronomy (with one Indigenous- owned tour operator from Burketown providing stargazing tours). The annual World Barramundi Fishing Championships in Burketown, the Gregory River Canoe Marathon and Burketown’s Morning Glory Festival are examples of annual events promoted to attract visitors to the region. As well as economic and employment opportunities, tourism can cause impacts such as native habitat loss, and foot traffic, bikes or vehicles may cause environmental damage such as erosion and a loss of amenity to local residents (Larson and Herr, 2008). Other risks include the spread of weeds (Chapter 7) and root rot fungus (Phytopthora cinnamomi) carried on vehicles and people (Pickering and Hill, 2007). The majority (79%) of the Southern Gulf catchments area is within Queensland, and this area is the most accessible to tourists. Visitor statistics in Queensland are usually reported at the local government area (LGA) scale (Figure 3-19). In the Southern Gulf catchments, visitor statistics are dominated by the Mount Isa LGA. The Mount Isa LGA reported 192 tourism businesses, of which 76 were ‘non-employing’, 61 had four or fewer employees, 46 had between 5 and 19 employees, and 15 had 20 or more employees. Annual visitation to the Mount Isa LGA included 154,000 domestic visitors (100,000 of which were intrastate) and 10,000 international visitors. Visitors stayed for a total of 660,000 visitor nights (a mean stay of four nights for domestic visitors and 11 nights for international visitors), contributing more than $132 million in regional expenditure. However, a large proportion of the visitors to Mount Isa LGA (approximately 95,000) had travelled there for business purposes (Tourism Research Australia, 2019). A 2019 survey of Burke Shire LGA reported 11 tourism businesses, of which six were ‘non-employing’, and domestic overnight visitor expenditure in the shire was estimated to be $9 million/year. Other LGAs in the study area reported few if any tourism enterprises, while others such as the Cloncurry LGA are not considered representative because only small parts of the LGA are within the study area. High summer temperatures and humidity result in most tourist visitation occurring during the drier, cooler months with 80% of visitation to the Gulf Country falling between April and October. Road closures and seasonal business closures have further impacts on the ability of the region to have visitors year-round (Tourism Tropical North Queensland, 2024). This seasonality of visitation has flow-on effects for tourism-connected industries such as accommodation, food services and transport. Local governement area and Tourism regiont map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-518_LGA_tourism regions_v03.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-19 Local government areas and the Tropical North Queensland tourism region that statistics on tourism visitation are extracted from Tourism development opportunities and considerations The state of northern Australia’s tourism economy is closely tied to the state of its ecosystems (Prideaux, 2013). With a large proportion of the Southern Gulf catchments in a ‘natural’ state relative to many parts of south-eastern Australia, there is potential for growth in nature-based tourism. However, like other remote areas of northern Australia, the region’s remoteness and distance from urban centres (Bugno and Polonsky, 2024), lack of supporting infrastructure, limited human capital and financial resources, and low awareness of tourism system characteristics (Summers et al., 2019), considerably constrain its potential. The seasonality of visitation also limits enterprise profitability (Bugno and Polonsky, 2024) and permanent employment opportunities. Also important to consider is that much of the catchment’s appeal to self-drive visitors is likely to be the absence of other people and commercial infrastructure, which presents opportunities for exploration and solitude (Lane and Waitt, 2007; Ooi and Laing, 2010). Hence development that alters the region’s current characteristics could be alienating to some current visitor markets. While water resource development for agriculture has the potential to negatively affect tourism and future opportunities in the Southern Gulf catchments, for example, through declining biodiversity and perceived reduced attractiveness (Pickering and Hill, 2007; Prideaux, 2013), such development may present opportunities to foster tourism growth. For example, Lake Argyle in the East Kimberley region (WA), developed as an irrigation dam to supply the Ord River Irrigation Area, is among northern WA’s must-see attractions, offering a wide range of tourism activities (https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/explore/kimberley/lake-argyle). While visitors to the Kimberley region reportedly perceived Lake Argyle in the same way they perceived some ‘natural’ local attractions such as billabongs, irrigated agriculture of the Ord River Irrigation Area is perceived differently, as being ‘domesticated’ (Waitt et al., 2003). Elsewhere in northern Australia, water resource infrastructure, including Fogg Dam (NT), Tinaroo Dam (Queensland) and Lake Moondarra (Queensland), has resulted in increased visitation by tourists for the enhanced wildlife or recreation opportunities they provide (e.g. Regional Development Australia, n.d.). However, the ongoing contributions of dam to their local economies vary. For example, the value of recreational fishing has been found to vary between dams depending upon whether there are other dams nearby and their proximity to tourism traffic (Rolfe and Prayaga, 2007). Visitation numbers to the Southern Gulf catchments suggests that the recreational fishing value of a new dam in the Southern Gulf catchments would be limited. Agritourism opportunities, for example, through property accommodation and other travel support (fuel), offer an opportunity for revenue diversification, although impediments such as highly variable seasonal demand limit profitability (Bugno and Polonsky, 2024). Tourism has the potential to enable economic development within Indigenous communities because Indigenous tourism enterprises, usually microbusinesses, often have some competitive advantages (Fuller et al., 2005). Successful tourism developments in regional and very remote areas such as the Southern Gulf catchments are highly likely to depend on establishing private and public sector partnerships, ensuring effective engagement and careful planning with Traditional Owners and regional stakeholders, and building interregional network connectivity and support (Greiner, 2010; Lundberg and Fredman, 2012). Given the importance of climate on tourism seasonality, demand and travel patterns in northern Australia (Hadwen et al., 2011; Kulendran and Dwyer, 2010), the increased temperatures and occurrence of extreme weather-related events (e.g. drought, flood, severe fires and cyclones) associated with climate change are likely to be significant threats to the industry in the future. These are likely to negatively affect tourist numbers, the also length and quality of the tourist season, tourism infrastructure including roads, and the appeal of the landscape and its changing biodiversity (Amelung and Nicholls, 2014; Prideaux, 2013). 3.3.4 Current infrastructure Transport A modest road network services the Southern Gulf catchments, from sealed major highways to unsealed minor connection roads, all of which are subject to flooding and wet-season closures. The roads in the catchments have previously benefited from the Northern Australia Beef Roads Program, which has funded upgrades to key roads necessary for transporting cattle to improve the reliability and resilience of cattle supply chains in northern Australia, reducing freight costs and strengthening links to markets. The Barkly Highway (Figure 3-20) is the only sealed road between the NT and Queensland. It runs through the most southern part of the Leichhardt catchment at Mount Isa from the Three Ways Roadhouse just north of Tennant Creek, NT, east to Cloncurry, Queensland. This highway continues as the Flinders Highway to Townsville on the east coast, a key route in the national supply chain network supporting many industries, including agriculture and mining. All road network information in this section is from spatial data layers in the Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT; Higgins et al., 2015). Trucking volumes calculated from TraNSIT show the largest volume of trailers occur on the Wills Developmental and Burke Developmental roads. Both of these roads are sealed and are predominantly used to support the cattle industry (Figure 3-26). National Highway 1 runs east–west across the Southern Gulf catchments through Burketown. It has sealed and unsealed sections and is also known as the Savannah Way, a popular four-wheel drive tourist route. Sections of this road also have local names (e.g. Doomadgee–Westmoreland Road). Rankings of the road network in the Southern Gulf catchments are shown in Figure 3-20. Heavy vehicle access restrictions for roads, as determined by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, show good connectivity for Type 2 road trains (Figure 3-21). These are vehicles up to 53 m in length, typically a prime mover pulling three 40-foot (approximately 12 m) trailers (Figure 3-22). A large proportion of the classified non-residential roads in the study area permit Type 2 road trains despite the poor road conditions of many of the local unsealed roads. Large (Type 2) road trains are permitted due to minimal safety issues from low traffic volumes and minimal road infrastructure restrictions (e.g. bridge limits, intersection turning safety). Drivers regularly use smaller vehicle configurations on the minor roads due to the difficult terrain and single lane access, particularly during wet conditions. Figure 3-24 shows the mean speed achieved for freight vehicles for the road network. The road speed limits are usually higher than the mean speed achieved for freight vehicles, particularly on unsealed roads. Heavy vehicles using such unsealed roads would usually achieve mean speeds of no more than 60 km/hour, and often lower when transporting livestock. Rail access in the Southern Gulf catchments is from a single point, Mount Isa, and has both a freight and passenger (the Inlander) service. The Great Northern Railway (also known as the Mount Isa line) is a critical link from the North West Minerals Province at Mount Isa to the Port of Townsville, primarily carrying bulk commodity transport (mostly minerals) for export. Several train operators manage rolling stock of incoming and outgoing freight. Queensland Rail (a statutory authority of the Queensland Government) owns the narrow-gauge (3 feet 6 inches, 1067 mm) line. The narrow gauge was chosen purely for economic reasons: because Queensland distances are large, the narrower gauge was cheaper to construct. Road rankings map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-508_TraNSIT_road rankings_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-20 Road rankings and conditions in the vicinity of the Southern Gulf catchments Rank 1 = well-maintained highways or other major roads, usually sealed; Rank 2 = secondary ‘state’ roads; Rank 3 = minor routes, usually unsealed local roads. The ‘Rank 1’ road is the Barkly Highway, which runs from the Three Ways Roadhouse (north of Tennant Creek) in the NT to Cloncurry, Queensland, east of Mount Isa. Road truck class map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-509_TraNSIT_truck type_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-21 Roads accessible to Type 2 vehicles in the vicinity of the Southern Gulf catchments: minor roads are not classified Type 2 vehicles are illustrated in Figure 3-22. For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-22 Common configurations of heavy freight vehicles used for transporting agricultural goods in Australia Figure 3-23 Road conditions and distance to market impact the economics of development in the Southern Gulf catchments. Photo: CSIRO – Nathan Dyer Road speed map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-510_TraNSIT_road_speed_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-24 Mean speed achieved for freight vehicles on roads in the vicinity of the Southern Gulf catchments Data source: Spatial dataset of the location and attributes of roads and ferries sourced from HERE Technologies (2021). Supply chains and processing Table 3-12 provides volumes of commodities transported into and out of the Southern Gulf catchments annually by road, and Figure 3-26 shows the location of existing pastoral properties in the catchments. Agricultural production is dominated by beef cattle, which is reflected in the annual freight volumes moving across the road network in the Southern Gulf catchments according to TraNSIT records of truck movements. Live export of cattle accounts for the majority of cattle movements. There are also substantial transfers of cattle between properties and smaller volumes directed to domestic markets via abattoirs and feedlots in southern Queensland; however, the closest abattoir is Townsville. Table 3-12 Overview of commodities (excluding livestock) annually transported into and out of the Southern Gulf catchments Indicative transport costs are means for each commodity and include differences in distances between source and destinations. For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Source: 2023 data from TraNSIT (Higgins et al., 2015) NA - data not available There are currently no processing facilities for other agricultural produce within the Southern Gulf catchments, although there have been assessments made for cotton processing (MITEZ, 2021). Rail access links Mount Isa to Townsville and the port, primarily carrying bulk commodity transport (mostly minerals) for export. The Port of Townsville is the closest port for bulk export and operates within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. This port is northern Australia’s largest container import facility, and exports primarily service the Queensland agricultural and mineral provinces. Port services also support imports and exports of general cargo for a range of domestic and industrial commodities (e.g. fuels, food, vehicles, commercial machinery and manufactured items). The port is managed and operated by a government-owned corporation, the Port of Townsville Limited, and currently operates with 11 berths. The Port of Lucinda (inset map on Figure 3-26), located on the east coast 100 km north of Townsville, is a sugar export facility. Ports North, also a corporation owned by the Queensland Government, manages eight ports in far north Queensland, four with sealed road access from the Southern Gulf catchments. The Port of Burketown, inside the catchments, is a declared port, but no commercial trade takes place. To the east just outside the catchments, the Port of Karumba provides for general cargo, fuel, fisheries products and zinc transhipment and has previously seen export of live cattle. On the east coast, the Port of Cairns, a regional port, services bulk and general cargo, a fishing fleet, cruise liners and passenger ferries to the reef. The export of raw sugar and molasses from the local sugar-growing districts is through the Port of Mourilyan. The only port in the western Gulf of Carpentaria is the Port of Bing Bong (inset map on Figure 3-25 Many roads are gravel in the Southern Gulf catchments, and often impassable in the wet season Photo: CSIRO – Nathan Dyer Truck volume and ports map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-511_TraNSIT_ag enterprises_v5.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-26 Annual amounts of trucking in the Southern Gulf catchments and the locations of pastoral properties and ports Declared ports (shown on the inset map) all carry out commercial operations except the Port of Burketown. The thickness of purple lines indicates the volume of traffic (as number of trailers per year) on regional roads connecting properties and enterprises. Energy The only major electricity network in north-western Queensland is the North West Power System (NWPS), which connects Mount Isa to the Century Mine (zinc) near Lawn Hill in the north and Cloncurry to the east outside the Southern Gulf catchments (Figure 3-27). The NWPS is isolated from the National Electricity Market (NEM), Australia’s largest electricity network, which stretches along Australia’s east coast from northern Queensland to Tasmania and SA. Power generation and transmission map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-507_energy generation distribution_v4.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-27 Electricity generation and transmission network and pipelines in the Southern Gulf catchments Most power stations in the NWPS are gas-fired, which has resulted in high electricity costs compared to the NEM (Queensland Government, 2021a). The NWPS does not operate via an electricity market, but rather has negotiated supply contracts, which suits large industrial and mining operations in the region (APA, 2022). Ergon Energy operates the distribution network in this region and all country areas of Queensland (Figure 3-27). Powerlink operates the NEM transmission network in Queensland (AEMO, 2023). Already one of the world’s longest interconnected power systems, the Queensland Government plans to connect the NEM to the NWPS with the development of the CopperString 2032 project. The connection will consist of a 1100 km transmission line from Townsville in the NEM to Mount Isa in the NWPS. Little benefit will be realised within the Southern Gulf catchments outside the Mount Isa area without additional transmission line infrastructure. The Diamantina Power Station, near Mount Isa, is a combined-cycle gas turbine plant with a capacity of 242 MW. This power station supplies the NWPS. It also has 60 MW of backup from the nearby open-cycle gas turbine Leichhardt Power Station. Doomadgee, Burketown and Gununa are not connected to any grids and have their own community power stations, which are supplied and maintained by Ergon Energy. Burketown and Gununa are isolated diesel power stations and Doomadgee’s 568 kW ground-mounted solar farm and 105 kW of rooftop solar (on four Doomadgee Shire Council buildings) provide power with backup supplied by diesel generator. Gas pipelines are located in the most southerly part of the Southern Gulf catchments where the Northern Gas Pipeline stretches from the NT to Mount Isa, and then the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline connects Mount Isa to Ballera in southern Queensland (Australian Energy Regulator, 2021). Renewable energy potential in the Southern Gulf catchments The Southern Gulf catchments have some of the best solar resources in Australia and a low to modest wind resource relative to other locations in Australia. A convenient metric for comparing renewable energy technologies is using the capacity factor of an energy plant, which is the ratio of electricity generated over one year to the nameplate capacity of the solar or wind farm. For example, for a capacity factor of 0.25, each 1 MW of a solar/wind farm will generate about 2190 MWh of electricity per year. In the Southern Gulf catchments, solar photovoltaic capacity factors are uniformly high, ranging between 0.23 to 0.25. In contrast, in southern Australia and along the east coast, the capacity factor can be as low as 0.12 (Figure 3-28). Wind resources for the Southern Gulf catchments are shown in Figure 3-29 as a capacity factor at a turbine hub height of 150 m, which is a typical height for a commercial wind turbine. Although wind capacity factors in the Southern Gulf catchments are comparable to, and in some cases higher than, solar capacity factors, wind farms have a higher capital cost, which can result in a higher cost of electricity production. This is particularly the case for smaller wind turbines than those whose results are shown in Figure 3-29. The generation capacity of these smaller turbines is more likely to be commensurate with the energy requirements of a farm-scale irrigation enterprise. Furthermore solar is modular and scalable and is easier to maintain in remote locations than wind turbines. Wind energy is also a relatively mature technology, and projections of the levelised cost of wind in 2040 suggest that its cost is plateauing. In contrast, solar photovoltaic is projected to steadily decrease such that by 2040 the levelised cost of solar photovoltaic would be 26% to 34% lower than the cost of wind on average (Graham et al., 2023). With the exception of Kajabbi, one of the few locations with soils potentially suitable for irrigated agriculture and a grid connection, solar photovoltaic is the most viable renewable technology across most of the Southern Gulf catchments. Having a grid connection at Kajabbi enables excess renewable electricity to be sold to the grid, potentially changing the economic viability of wind turbines. Solar photovoltaic capacity map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-517_Solar_resource_V3.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-28 Solar photovoltaic capacity factors in the Southern Gulf catchments Inset shows solar photovoltaic capacity factors across Australia. Note: the inset map uses a different colour ramp Wind capacity map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\5_Agriculture_economics\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Se-S-516_Wind_resource_V4.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-29 Wind capacity factors in the Southern Gulf catchments Inset shows wind capacity factors across Australia. Note: the inset map uses a different colour ramp. At locations distant from a grid connection, such as Doomadgee, it was found that, based on current capital costs and a diesel cost of $1.50/litre (including any rebate), diesel generators were the most cost-effective technology for supplying power to farm infrastructure requiring electricity 24 hours/day or requiring electricity for 30% or fewer days per year. For farm infrastructure operating more than 50% days of the year, and for 12 hours/day or less, a hybrid diesel – solar photovoltaic farm with the renewable fraction between 50% and 75% is most the cost-effective technology. The exception is for farm infrastructure requiring electricity for 4 and 12 hours/day and 365 days/year, for which a 100% solar photovoltaic farm (with batteries) was most the most cost-effective way to provide power. Under a higher cost of diesel ($2.50/litre including rebates), the results were similar except a 100% renewable system with batteries was most cost-effective when electricity had to be supplied for 80% of days or more. Based on solar photovoltaic and battery technology costs projected to 2040, it was found that hybrid diesel – solar photovoltaic systems (with batteries) were most cost-effective when farm infrastructure was operated for 30% of days/year or higher for 12 to 24 hours/day, or 10% of days/year when only operated for a maximum of 8 hours/day at the higher diesel price (i.e. $2.50/litre). See the companion technical report on techno-economic analysis of electricity supply (Hayward, 2024) for more detail. Hybrid grid electricity – renewable systems without batteries are more viable in all instances where soils suitable for irrigated agriculture are located near an existing electricity transmission line and it is possible to sell modest amounts of surplus energy to the grid (i.e. assuming the size of the renewable farm cannot be greater than 25% of the electrical load and assuming expected revenue was only equal to the levelised cost of electricity of wind; see Hayward (2024) for more detail). Solar technology tends to be more viable when the demand is 4 hours/day or less, or the infrastructure is operated is for 10% or fewer days per year. Water Communities and industries in the Southern Gulf catchments source their water from either surface water or groundwater for a variety of purposes, including: (i) stock and domestic uses, (ii) town and community water supplies, and (iii) industries such as agriculture and mining. For some uses, surface water is pumped from the occasional dam or stream. In the case of Mount Isa’s water supply, a major water transmission pipeline supported by pumping stations is used to transfer water from the dams on Lake Julius and Lake Moondarra for treatment prior to distribution in Mount Isa. Small quantities of groundwater (<5 ML/year) may be pumped from a single bore for stock and domestic use. Where larger amounts of groundwater are required (tens to hundreds of megalitres per year), water may be pumped from a borefield consisting of multiple connected production bores. Such applications include town and community water supplies and irrigated agriculture. A water licence is required for some water uses, such as water use for town and community water supply or applications by industry. Other applications, such as stock and domestic use, may or may not require a water licence. This will depend upon the proposed location and magnitude of water take and whether it occurs within a water plan area or could interfere with a watercourse, lake or spring (Queensland Government, 2016). In some areas of the catchments, water use is under a water plan – each plan covers a different extent and plan areas may overlay another plan area (Figure 3-30). Surface water plans will overlay the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 area (Figure 3-30). Groundwater plans may overlay the Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers (GABORA) Plan area. The GABORA Water Plan manages groundwater sources from multiple aquifers hosted in different geological units and within different groundwater sub-areas (Figure 3-30). In 2018, the Queensland Water Act 2000 was changed to formally recognise the importance of water resources to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. It required new and replacement water plans to explicitly state ‘cultural outcomes’ as distinct from social, economic and environmental outcomes. Water plans can include strategies for monitoring and reporting on the achievement of cultural outcomes. For example, the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 (Queensland Government, 2007) includes 30,550 ML as an Indigenous reserve ( Surface water and groundwater licences, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\11_Groundwater\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Gr-S-519_WaterLicences_v07.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-30 Location, type and volume of annual licensed surface water and groundwater entitlements across the Southern Gulf catchments License locations are not precise as deidentified location information was used. Unallocated reserves provided for in the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 (34.3 GL/y in total), are not shown. Currently there are no active groundwater or surface water licences in the NT portion of the Southern Gulf catchments. Data sources: Spatial dataset of the location and attributes for water licences and permits across Queensland sourced from the Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (2023) Table 3-13 Unallocated surface water in the Queensland part of the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Source: Waschka and Macintosh (2023) Surface water entitlements Surface water licences with a volumetric entitlement occur at a variety of locations and from a variety of sources across the Southern Gulf catchments (Figure 3-30). Currently, 27 unsupplemented surface water licences with a volumetric entitlement have been granted across the Southern Gulf catchments. These licenses have been granted for a combination of uses, including agriculture and aquaculture, across various parts of the catchments. They have a combined total of about 38,000 ML/year (38 GL/year) (Figure 3-30). The largest entitlements (i.e. between 1000 and 8000 ML/year) have been granted for use in agriculture. Some moderate entitlements (between 400 and 1000 ML/year) have been granted for town and community water supply at Mount Isa, Gregory and Kajabbi (Figure 3-30). Much smaller surface water entitlements (<50 ML/year), are associated with stock use (Figure 3-30). There are also supplemented water entitlements supplied by Lake Julius (48.85 GL) and Lake Moondarra (26.3 GL). These entitlements are used for Mount Isa town water supply and industrial use, as well supply to Cloncurry and Ernest Henry Mine via the North West Queensland Water Pipeline from Lake Julius. Use of these entitlements historically has been low, over the 2017–18 to 2021–22 water years (1 September to 31 August), 11% to 29% of authorised entitlements from Lake Julius were used, and 52% to 66% from Lake Moondarra (Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, 2023). Groundwater entitlements Groundwater licences with a volumetric entitlement also occur at a variety of locations and from a variety of sources for different uses across the catchments. Currently 13 groundwater licences with a volumetric entitlement have been granted for a variety of applications with a combined total of about 3.5 GL/year. The largest entitlements (150 to 1400 ML/year) are associated with industrial use in mining with the water sourced from various aquifers hosted in the Paradise Creek Formation and the Currant Bush and Thorntonia limestones (Figure 3-30). Two licensed entitlements of approximately 100 ML/year have been granted for town and community water supplies at Burketown and Gununa (Mornington Island). Both licences have been granted for groundwater sources from the Gilbert River Formation of the Great Artesian Basin (Figure 3-30). The smallest groundwater licences (<100 ML/year) have been granted for a variety of industrial and agricultural uses with groundwater sourced from a variety of aquifers hosted in different geological units (Figure 3-30). The Century Zinc Mine, located about 15 km to the south-east of Lawn Hill, was Australia’s largest open-pit zinc mine before its closure in 2016. It used to de-water part of the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer (CLA) hosted in the Thorntonia Limestone that overlies zinc deposits hosted in the Proterozoic Lawn Hill Formation. When fully operational, the mine was reported to be extracting about 19 GL/year of groundwater in the early 2000s and about 10 GL/year in the mid-2010s. Currently, less than 1 GL/year of groundwater is being extracted at the site. The cessation in de-watering at the site is likely to have resulted in recovery of groundwater levels and storage in the CLA around the site. This may also include an onset of increased discharge from the aquifer to Lawn Hill Creek. However, the timescales for changes in groundwater flow are likely to be in the order of tens of years or longer, and further investigation would be required to confirm this. For more information on groundwater resources of the Southern Gulf catchments, see the companion technical report on groundwater characterisation (Raiber et al., 2024). Community infrastructure The availability of community services and facilities in remote areas can play an important role in attracting people to or deterring people from living in those areas. Development of remote areas, therefore, needs to consider whether housing, education and healthcare are sufficient to support the anticipated growth in population and demand, or to what extent these would need to be expanded. Like most remote parts of Australia, there are limited primary health resources in the Southern Gulf catchments apart from in the largest population centre, Mount Isa. Mount Isa Hospital has 80 beds and is a Queensland Level 4 (Clinical Services Capability Framework) Specialist Service Base Hospital delivering moderately complex services. Telehealth and specialist outreach services are provided from Mount Isa to remote hospital and health service facilities in the Assessment area. General practitioners and allied health professionals provide most primary healthcare in Mount Isa. The Southern Gulf catchments are serviced by the national primary health network (PHN). Australia is divided into 31 PHNs: one of these covers the whole of the NT, and in Queensland, the area is covered by the Western Queensland PHN. These PHN regions are divided into districts. In the NT, the Katherine Health Service District (HSD) (also known as the Big Rivers Region) and the Barkly HSD provide health services to remote communities and properties in the NT part of the Southern Gulf catchments. There are no hospitals inside the NT section of the Southern Gulf catchments. The nearest healthcare resource is Robinson River Community Health Centre, a nurse- led clinic approximately 100 km north of the western boundary of the catchments. The Queensland North West Hospital and Health Service at Mount Isa works closely with local hospital and clinic networks in smaller communities to provide remote health services. There are three hospitals inside the boundaries of the catchments: Burketown (Level 1), Doomadgee (Level 2) and Mornington Island (Level 2). They provide low-complexity care services and specialist visiting services, including paediatrics, dietetics, oral health and speech therapy. Gidgee Healing Aboriginal Medical Service provides primary and community healthcare in Doomadgee and on Mornington Island. Three Queensland hospitals located close to but outside the boundaries of the catchments provide health services: Camooweal (Level 1), Cloncurry (Level 1) and Normanton (Level 2). The Royal Flying Doctor Service also covers the region, providing weekly general practitioner and fortnightly child health clinics to some communities and properties. The mining town of Mount Isa has all the facilities of a large rural town. It is the central hub for education in the Southern Gulf catchments, with three public schools totalling 1240 full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolled students and 129.4 teachers (FTE) in 2022 (Table 3-14). Delivering education to the smaller communities are three schools, Doomadgee, Burketown and Mornington Island, which are all in the Queensland part of the catchments. A total of 577.2 (FTE) students are enrolled in these schools with 60.8 (FTE) teachers. A further four schools are just outside the Southern Gulf catchments: Camooweal, Cloncurry and Normanton in Queensland and Robinson River in the north of the NT part of the catchments. Mount Isa School of the Air, with 176 students (FTE), also covers the properties and communities in the study area. Table 3-14 Schools servicing the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †FTE = full-time equivalent Source: ACARA (2023) (data presented with permission) At the time of the 2021 Census, around 19% of private dwellings were unoccupied, which is around double the Queensland and national means for unoccupied dwellings (Table 3-15). This suggests that the current pool of housing may have some capacity to absorb small future increases in population. Table 3-15 Number and percentage of unoccupied dwellings and population for the Southern Gulf catchments For more information on this figure, table or equation please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au †Weighted averages of scores for SA2 regions falling wholly or partially within the boundaries of the catchments. Source: ABS (2021b) Census data 3.4 Indigenous values, rights, interests and development goals 3.4.1 Introduction and research scope This section gives an overview of the information needed on Indigenous water issues in the Assessment area to provide foundations for community consultations and involvement in further research, and planning and decision-making with government and industry. It provides some key background information about the Indigenous Peoples in the Assessment area and their specific values, rights, interests and objectives in relation to water. The material in this section draws largely from the literature and is intended to give an overview on water-related development information needs. Additional information on Indigenous aspirations, interests and water values is presented in the companion technical report by Lyons et al. (2024). Indigenous Peoples represent a substantial and growing proportion of the population across northern Australia, and they have secured rights and interests in over 70% of the land. They control significant natural and cultural resource assets, including land, water and coastlines. Indigenous Peoples are crucial owners and will increasingly become critical partners, co-investors and stakeholders in future development. Understanding the past is essential to understanding present circumstances and forms of organisation to engage with development options and future possibilities. The material provided here begins with historical information and a description of the contemporary ownership of the Assessment area. It then focuses on development in the lower reaches of the Southern Gulf catchments. Section 3.4.2 describes the past habitation by Indigenous Peoples, the significance of water in habitation patterns, and the impact of exploration and colonisation processes. Section 3.4.3 reviews the contemporary situation with respect to Indigenous residence, land ownership and access. Section 3.4.4 outlines Indigenous water values and responses to development, and Section 3.4.5 describes Indigenous-generated development objectives. Information on Indigenous water values and perspectives on general water development and associated agriculture has been given limited consideration within the Assessment area. Significant research has been undertaken on pastoralism and mining, particularly the relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies in these sectors. The work undertaken here, and in the companion technical report on Indigenous aspirations, interests and water values (Lyons et al., 2024), addresses these information needs. Engagement with Indigenous Peoples is a strong aspiration across governments and key industries. Nevertheless, engagement models can vary considerably, and competing understandings of what ‘engagement’ means (e.g. consultation, involvement, partnership) can substantially affect successful outcomes. Standard stakeholder models can also marginalise Indigenous interests, reducing what Indigenous Peoples understand as prior and inalienable ownership rights to a single ‘stake’ equivalent to all others at the table. As significant land rights and interest holders, Indigenous Peoples in northern Australia have expressed a desire to drive alternative engagement practices to strengthen local leadership and knowledge partnerships (NAILSMA, 2020). Guided by advice from the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (CLCAC) and feedback from other Aboriginal corporations, the Assessment activity on Indigenous aspirations, development goals and water values was redesigned to test and understand how findings from the previous Assessments may be relevant to Traditional Owners in the Southern Gulf catchments. At the time of writing this report, on-ground consultations were being planned under a joint CSIRO–CLCAC proposal. This section summarises Indigenous values, rights, interests and development goals sourced from publicly available literature. It is complemented by a legal analysis of Indigenous water rights and interests in the NT and Queensland. 3.4.2 Pre-colonial and colonial history Pre-colonial Indigenous society Pre-colonial Indigenous society is characterised by long residence times; a detailed knowledge of ecology and food gathering techniques on which survival depended; complex systems of kinship and territorial organisation; communal and inalienable ownership of land; and a sophisticated set of religious beliefs, often known as the Dreaming. These Indigenous religious cosmologies provide a source of spiritual and emotional connection and guidance on identity, language, law, territorial boundaries and economic relationships (Merlan, 1982; Rose, 2004; Strang, 2005). From an Indigenous perspective, ancestral powers are always present in the landscape, intimately connected to People, Country and culture. Mythological creators, collectively referred to as Dreaming, have imbued significance to places through creation, leaving evidence of their actions and presence through features in the landscape (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Merlan, 1982; Rose, 2004). The cosmological belief of the Dreaming is present among many Indigenous groups. Totemic figures can be animals or plants, take human-like or inanimate object forms, or be sentient beings with agency to act (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Merlan, 1982; Peterson, 2013). Those powers must be considered in any action that takes place on Country. Northern Australia contains archaeological evidence of Indigenous habitation stretching back many tens of thousands of years (Taçon, 2008), but gaps remain in the published archaeological record. Resource-rich riverine habitats were central to Indigenous economies based on seasonally organised hunting, gathering and fishing. Rivers were also major corridors for social interaction and contain many sites of cultural importance (Barber and Jackson, 2014; McIntyre-Tamwoy et al., 2013; Taçon, 2008). Colonisation The first confrontations of European exploration, settlement and the processes of colonisation resulted in significant levels of violence towards Indigenous Peoples. Continued conquest of Indigenous Peoples and the control of their lands brought about the breakdown of the structure and function of existing Indigenous societies, including the decimation of language groups. Access to land and water was critical to both enterprising pastoral interests and Indigenous subsistence society (Merlan, 1978; Morphy and Morphy, 1981; Scambary, 2013; Strang, 1997). The damage and ruin to water sources caused by cattle affected Indigenous Peoples’ access to other resources on Indigenous lands, which intensified conflicts and lead to Indigenous Peoples taking cattle for sustenance and retaliation (McGrath, 1987; Merlan, 1978, 1986; Strang, 1997). Avoidance, armed defensiveness, skirmishes and violent clashes occurred in colonial relationships as a result of competition for food and water resources, colonial attitudes and cultural misunderstandings (Merlan, 1978). Historical exploration and settlement were practices that placed a colonial overlay of interests and boundaries on Indigenous territories and resources (Scambary, 2013). The opening of the Gulf Country to the pastoralism frontier occurred with the search parties sent from Victoria, Queensland and SA to find the explorers Burke and Wills after their disappearance (Scambary, 2013). Cattle arrived from 1861 onwards after the expedition parties identified fertile pastoral lands. Within 4 years, three stations were established in the Southern Gulf catchments: Beames Brook, Floraville and Gregory Downs stations (Scambary, 2013). Pastoral stations were first established in more accessible and watered lands. Groups belonging to those areas bore the brunt of the displacement activity (Trigger, 1992). People moved in various directions to find refuge: some moved to the coast and others retreated to the NT. Gregory Downs Station remains one of the larger stations in the catchments. The subsequent development of available pastoral lands in the 1860s led to the establishment of Burketown on Gangalidda Country in 1865 (Martin, 2012). The establishment of the Coast Track in 1872 invigorated a new focus on pastoralism in northern Australia, in the southern region of the Gulf of Carpentaria and into the NT. This attention to developing northern Australia was the start of violent relationships between Indigenous Peoples and settlers in the frontier (Roberts, 2009). The Coast Track remains notorious for the violence perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples, a period called the ‘Wild Times’. Police stations were established along the Coast Track in the 1880s in response to station owner complaints of cattle stealing by Indigenous Peoples and to establish law and order in newly settled areas (Merlan, 1986; Roberts, 2009; Strang, 1997). Later, the Native Mounted Police helped manage the Indigenous labour working on stations (Kidd, 1997). The 1890s drought that pushed stock to the coastal fringes affected the Waanyi People most. The Waanyi People, whose lands in the west had been taken up by pastoral stations, moved to the east to secure food supplies from depots and stations in Queensland, obtain tobacco and gain protection from the violence (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Martin, 2012). Burketown on Gangalidda land was established as a supply and support town in 1865 but was later abandoned due to fever. It has continued to be a community township. The Queensland Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 legislated for the protection of Aboriginal people and triggered the establishment of Aboriginal reserve lands (Kidd, 1997). Under the Act, the government could remove and relocate individuals and families and regulate the employment of Indigenous Peoples in the pastoral industry (Kidd, 1997). The legislation was designed to reduce Indigenous resistance to pastoral activities and stock loss due to changed resource conditions from the new settler interests (Roberts, 2009; Scambary, 2013). At the same time, the pastoral industry relied heavily on Indigenous labour and knowledge of Country to sustain itself. As a result of the application of the legislation to Indigenous Peoples in Queensland, the Native Mounted Police directed its attention to preventing the movement of NT-based Indigenous Peoples into Queensland (Roberts, 2005). Consequently, Waanyi People continue to live and manage their affairs across historically established jurisdictional borders (Roberts, 2005). The Act included a provision for establishing minimum wages, payable under agreed individual negotiations. The payment of wages was under the discretion of the Protector of Aborigines, who determined an individual’s access to their wages. Wages were paid into trusts that people could not access, and in many cases, money did not reach the workers (Kidd, 1997). Unknowingly, individuals entered into agreements that indentured them to stations. In 2019, the Queensland Government agreed to pay $190 million in stolen wages to settle a class action by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for unpaid wages dating back to the late 19th century and up to the 1980s. A Presbyterian mission was established on Mornington Island in 1914 and later in the location of Doomadgee in 1936 (Long, 1970). In the 1930s, many Indigenous Peoples were living on the Mornington Island and Doomadgee missions. The missions remained in government control for 50 years and systematically dismantled the social and political systems and kinship responsibilities (Long, 1970). The missions became important sources of labour for stations and protectors of Aboriginal people (Long, 1970). Mornington Island and Doomadgee missions transitioned to community governments in 1978 and 1983, respectively (Memmott and Channells, 2004). 3.4.3 Contemporary Indigenous ownership, management, residence and representation Despite the tensions, disruptions and trauma that stemmed from colonisation, Indigenous Peoples remain closely tied to their territory associations, ceremonial relationships and genealogical and historical residential ties (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Trigger, 1987, 1997). Some of these connections are formally recognised by the Australian state and confer particular rights and interests. Indigenous Traditional Ownership The Indigenous owners’ language groups of the Southern Gulf catchments are: •Leichhardt catchment – Kalkadoon, Mitakoodi, Wakabunga, Mayi-Kutuna, Mayi-Thankurti, Mayi-Yapi, Mayi-Yali and Kukatj•Nicholson catchment – Waanyi, Garawa, Wakabunga, Nguburinji, and Gangalidda•Wellesley Islands – Lardil, Yangkaal, Kaiadilt •Settlement catchment – Garawa, Gangalidda •Morning Inlet catchment – Kukatj. Patterns of ownership and language affiliation follow features of the landscape and waterways and are reflected in the place names and songs of significant Dreamings and totemic figures. Formal boundaries are also negotiated between groups. In some areas, there can be overlapping claims and sharing of territories. The process of colonisation has also shaped land interests. Residential information regarding the identification of potential owners and interest holders is provided by registered organisations such as the CLCAC, Queensland South Native Title Services and prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs) such as the Kalkadoon Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. Across Australia, the primary form of recognition for Indigenous interests is native title and associated Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). Native title provides a bundle of rights (such as access, hunting and fishing) determined through a legal process. The Australian legal system formally recognises Indigenous exclusive native title interests in 10.8% of the Southern Gulf catchments. Native title, Aboriginal Land Act deeds of grant in trust (DOGIT), the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALRA), national park co-management and ILUAs are the formal ways in which contemporary Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Gulf catchments exercise some degree of management control over large areas of their traditional lands and have ownership. In the NT jurisdiction of the Nicholson River, Waanyi Garawa Country, the ALRA provides a form of collective freehold ownership. The entire Waanyi Garawa Aboriginal Land Trust, an area of some 11,000 km2, is an Indigenous Protected Area (Ganalanga-Mindibirrina Indigenous Protected Area) (Figure 3-4). Within Queensland, Doomadgee and Mornington Island and the surrounding islands have been granted DOGIT (Figure 3-31). DOGIT is a legal framework that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to ‘self-manage’ their communities. Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Gulf catchments in Queensland exercise some degree of management control over large areas of traditional lands through native title determinations (Figure 3-32). The Waanyi Native Title area is the most extensive determination in the state. Native title (non-exclusive) areas in the Southern Gulf catchments include the jointly managed Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land), several extensive pastoral holdings, the Bidunggu Aboriginal Community on the Gregory River, the Wellesley Islands and seas connecting them to mainland, and parts of the mainland that have been designated Indigenous Protected Areas. By definition, native title is based on patterns of customary ownership of lands and waters. There are a variety of formal Indigenous management systems in the Southern Gulf catchments, including joint management of Lawn Hill Gorge, Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) and the Indigenous Protected Areas of Thuwathu/Bujimulla (marine), Nijinda Durlga and Ganalanga- Mindibirrina (see Figure 3-33). Aboriginal Lands, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\6_Indigenous\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Indig_S_501_NT_QLDTenure_Cadastre_v4.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-31 Exclusive Aboriginal lands and pastoral interests make up the majority of the Southern Gulf catchments Native title map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\6_Indigenous\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Indig_S_500_NativeTitle_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-32 The extent of native title claims and determinations over the Southern Gulf catchments Protected areas \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\6_Indigenous\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Indig_S_502_ProtectedAreas_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-33 Indigenous protected areas and other protected areas in the Southern Gulf catchments as of April 2020 Data Source: Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) - (2020) from commonwealth, state and territory governments, non- government organisations, Indigenous and other protected area managers. Augmenting the formal native title claims are registered ILUAs. ILUAs are voluntary registered agreements between native title claimants or holders and other interested parties to use and manage land and resources. ILUAs occur over 47.1% of the Southern Gulf catchments, and grazing and mining are the main land uses in these areas (see Figure 3-34). In addition to these formally registered and enduring native title areas are pastoral leases held by Indigenous Peoples and corporations, which confer rights under which land may be held and used. Pastoral leaseholders can include Traditional Owners and Indigenous residents, individually and in collective entities. The ownership of Lawn Hill and Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company Pty Ltd was transferred to the Waanyi People under the Gulf Communities Agreement, which provided the native title approval for the development of the Century Mine. Indigenous Land Use Agreements, map \\FS1-CBR.nexus.csiro.au\{lw-rowra}\work\6_Indigenous\4_S_Gulf\1_GIS\1_Map_docs\Indig_S_503_Registerd_ILUAs_v2.mxd For more information on this figure please contact CSIRO on enquiries@csiro.au Figure 3-34 Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) Total extent of all ILUAs is shown in pink. ILUAs cover a range of activities including the energy sector, industry (fishing) and local government. One single area may be covered by multiple ILUAs, only mining and pastoral ILUAs are highlighted by hatching. Over 50 ILUA arrangements exist in the Southern Gulf catchments; they relate to pastoralism, mining, conservation, commercial fishing, local shire business and energy infrastructure. ILUAs relating to pastoralism are most common, followed by mining. Mining ILUAs cover the greatest area at 24.2% of all ILUA types combined. Figure 3-34 shows the regions and types of practices that are related to the ILUAs. Indigenous population and residence The Indigenous population made up 27% of the total population of the Southern Gulf catchments in 2021 (Table 3-5). The 27% includes Indigenous Peoples who are part of the recognised local ownership groups identified above and residents who identify as Indigenous but have their origins elsewhere. Many Traditional Owners may primarily reside outside the traditional lands to which they have formal ties. These patterns of residence and dispersal reflect a combination of historical involuntary relocation, voluntary movement to seek jobs and other opportunities, and kinship and family links. As such, these administrative data do not account for the complexity of Indigenous Peoples’ social, linguistic and economic relations. Indigenous communities in the Southern Gulf catchments face a range of social and demographic challenges, including significant unemployment, poor health and housing, and structural impediments to economic participation, including remoteness and social and family units under high levels of stress. Approximately 60% of the population of the lower section of the Southern Gulf catchments identify as Indigenous. Mornington Island and Doomadgee residents are predominantly Indigenous Peoples, and they live in some of the Assessment area’s poorest townships (Everingham et al., 2013; see Table 3-5). High proportions of the population identify as Indigenous in several other settlements and outstations across the catchments. Only 21.4% of the population of the Mount Isa SA2 region identify as Indigenous (Table 3-5). A review of annual reports and a social impact assessment of the Century Mine (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2021a; Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2022; Everingham et al., 2013) both stress the importance of creating local opportunities, including employment, capacity building for Indigenous owners and building assets on traditional lands. For instance, the Waanyi People acquired the Lawn Hill and Riversleigh cattle stations in 2020 under an arrangement with Century Mine. Indigenous governance and representation CLCAC and Queensland South Native Title Services (QSNTS) are the two major agencies representing Indigenous rights and interests within the Southern Gulf catchments. QSNTS mainly focuses on native title services. CLCAC has an economic development unit supporting PBCs to plan commercial opportunities and has an established land and sea ranger program. CLCAC collaborates with the Northern Land Council on the Waanyi Garawa Rangers working on the Waanyi Garawa Aboriginal Land Trust. Land-owning Indigenous groups form diverse organisational and political structures as part of their native title roles and economic development planning. In the southern region of the catchments, Kalkadoon Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC offers land and resource management and employment services to its members through its partnerships with businesses and stakeholders operating on its customary lands. PBCs and land councils can act for Traditional Owners with respect to Indigenous access, participation, partnerships and ownerships. Indigenous Peoples are formally involved in land and sea management through the Wellesley Islands Rangers, the Gangalidda-Garawa Rangers and within the two pastoral stations of Lawn Hill and Riversleigh. 3.4.4 Indigenous water values and perspectives on development Indigenous water values Documentation of Indigenous oral histories across Australia demonstrate People’s connections to waters and lands and how water is a significant feature of Indigenous cultural landscapes (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Strang, 2005; Toussaint et al., 2005). Indigenous histories share a conceptualisation of water sources, rivers and lands as having been derived from the activities of mythic beings in Dreaming time (Barber and Jackson, 2011; Keen, 2003; Martin and Trigger, 2015; Morphy, 1991; Taçon, 2008). Dreaming necessitates sociocultural institutions and protocols that govern the use of water, determined by spiritual entities in the landscape (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Morphy, 1991). Language place names are often strongly associated with places of fresh water and ancestral connections (Merlan, 1981; Trigger, 1987). In the Gulf Country, many Indigenous place names relate to freshwater sources (Martin and Trigger, 2015). Important places of water, waterholes and springs can also hold art sites of Rainbow Dreaming (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Taçon, 2008). Dreaming connects People from the sea to inland regions, with recountings that tell of mythic beings adopting languages belonging to each territory and group (Martin and Trigger, 2015). Indigenous cultural heritage Indigenous cultural heritage relates to archaeological sites, places associated with traditional knowledge, and places of historical or contemporary significance. Aquatic places and systems strongly correlate with cultural heritage. Any development interests in these areas will likely affect places of cultural heritage significance and require negotiated conditions between Traditional Owners and leaseholders. Early scoping of cultural heritage conditions and requirements will aid consultations between development proponents and Traditional Owners. By way of illustration, the Lawn Hill and Riversleigh Pastoral Holding properties acquired by Waanyi People under an agreement with Century Mine are of significant cultural value (Everingham et al., 2013). Under the agreement, Century Mine preserves access rights for exploration with the mining company. In the southern part of the catchments, Kalkadoon Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC provides cultural heritage services in the mining and pastoral sectors. A priority of land-owning Indigenous groups of the Gulf Country is to have access rights to pastoral properties to sustain cultural heritage and customary values and roles (Memmott and Channells, 2014). Contemporary Indigenous water values Contemporary Indigenous water values stress the importance of secure water supply and good- quality water for healthy landscapes and remote community health and livelihoods (Barber, 2013, 2018; Barber and Woodward, 2018; Lyons and Barber, 2018). Indigenous water needs include cultural practices, pastoralism, tourism, hunting and fishing, agriculture and natural resource management. In the Southern Gulf catchments, Indigenous water values have been affected by the loss of language groups, dislocation from ancestral territories and pastoralism (Memmott and Channells, 2014). Indigenous involvement and ownership of pastoral leases across the catchments over the years have shifted how water is valued by groups and their members, with increasing emphasis on water places for pastoralism. The impact of many years of cattle grazing on the environment and Country has reshaped the relationship of Indigenous Peoples with water (Martin and Trigger, 2015; Scambary, 2013). Aboriginal corporations have negotiated access to water places for Traditional Owners to fish and hunt. The literature demonstrates that water supplies to significant Dreaming sites, and Indigenous perspectives and beliefs about underground water, remain critical to decisions about types of water harvesting techniques, their use and perceived impacts from long-term use (Martin and Trigger, 2015). Perspectives on water and irrigated agricultural development Traditional Owners and communities in the Southern Gulf catchments face increasing outside interest in irrigated agriculture and water extraction in their region (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2022). Water monitoring is a priority in order to understand the impact of water-related development and threats that may affect Indigenous Peoples’ relationships with Country and community wellbeing. For example, CLCAC initiated a water quality monitoring program to gather baseline data and identify any impacts to fresh and saltwater systems caused by contamination, altered water flow and saltwater incursion into freshwater environments. The monitoring program was implemented with the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, and included a capacity-building component. Regional land and water planning is an emerging priority for other Indigenous Peoples with rights and interests in the Southern Gulf catchments. They have concerns that water extraction for irrigation may adversely affect existing pastoral enterprises and Indigenous communities, as well as their future development options (Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management, 2016). Indigenous interests in water planning Water planning is understood as one way of managing water development risk and advancing sustainable management, but it also has challenges. The National Water Initiative guides and sets the goal for recognising Indigenous Peoples’ values and interests in water in terms of access and management. It considers Indigenous customary objectives, economic development interests, native title needs and Indigenous representation. The Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 is being renewed by the Queensland Government. Engagements are being facilitated with Indigenous Peoples through land councils and Aboriginal corporations. Recognising and incorporating Indigenous interests in contemporary water planning processes with competing water demands is challenging because of the limited knowledge of Indigenous Peoples’ interests and how to accommodate their perspectives. The involvement of Indigenous Peoples in water monitoring programs and their expressed concerns about different water extraction methods demonstrate their interest in maintaining sustainable supplies of good-quality water for diverse interests and values. 3.4.5 Indigenous development objectives Exclusive native title determinations and large areas of Indigenous-owned land and ILUAs mean that communities in the Southern Gulf catchments have access to capital, land and resources. However, as a group, Indigenous Peoples in the study area remain socially and economically disadvantaged. Economic development is a key objective of Southern Gulf catchments Indigenous groups. This has been articulated in documents produced by the CLCAC, including its Strategic plan 2021–2025 (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2021b), annual reports (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2021, 2022), PBC land and sea Country plans, Land and sea management 2014 (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2014a, 2016a, 2016b), Social investment prospectus 2014 (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2014b), Indigenous economic and business development opportunities in the Gulf of Carpentaria region (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2013a), Carpentaria Land Councial Aboriginal Corporation destination and product development plan (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2013b). These documents provide details on Indigenous economic development goals. A key feature of Indigenous development objectives in the Assessment area is the diversity of development interests. These are broadly categorised into four key sectors (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2021b): •resources –mining rehabilitation and land management activities –employment in mining operations –asset acquisition and development •land and sea management –management of Indigenous Protected Areas –carbon abatement –fisheries compliance and monitoring •pastoralism –Lawn Hill and Riversleigh pastoral stations •tourism –ecotourism and Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park management (Gangalidda andGarawa Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, 2014; Carpentaria Land Council AboriginalCorporation, 2021; Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, 2022) –ecotourism and business development opportunities (particularly proposals thatacknowledge the role of the Waanyi People as traditional custodians, respect their loreand culture, and provide opportunities for the Waanyi People to improve social andeconomic outcomes. This is a core objective of the Waanyi Strategic plan 2020–2025(Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, 2020) and can potentially improve thesocial and economic outcomes for the Waanyi People –GRAC Birri Fishing Lodge on Mornington Island (which could be re-established as a viabletourism entity) •service delivery –Jigija Indigenous Fire Training Program of the Indigenous-owned business Gangalidda andGarawa Services Pty Ltd (Gangalidda and Garawa Native Title Aboriginal Corporation(GGNTAC)), which provides fire management and mitigation training in the traditionalCountry of the Gangalidda People. These sectors represent a continued focus on supporting a strong, sustainable region. Expanding sustainable economic opportunities that mobilise Traditional Owners’ values, interests and rights broadly across the Assessment area requires partnership and collaboration. The CLCAC Economic Development and Business Support Unit has a role in enabling, generating and sustaining a wide range of opportunities. It works with its partners, stakeholders and the community to benefit the Southern Gulf catchment’s People and communities (Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, 2021b). Partnerships and planning Indigenous Peoples in the Southern Gulf catchments possess diverse natural, historical and cultural assets. Indigenous corporations such as CLCAC and Kalkadoon Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC have established partnerships across the private, government, non- government and research sectors. For example, there are partnerships with: •Century Mine under the Gulf Communities Agreement •universities for marine and water-related ecosystem monitoring and research •Indigenous and non-Indigenous pastoralists •natural resource management agencies, including Southern Gulf NRM. 3.5 Legal and policy environment Proponents must be aware of a range of legal, policy and regulatory requirements and approvals when contemplating land and water developments within the Southern Gulf catchments. As part of their due diligence process, proponents must be prepared to secure appropriate land tenure and authorisations to take water and to obtain the necessary approvals well in advance of commencing construction and operation of a development. This section describes the overarching Australian legal context and summarises the key issues and related legal, regulatory and approval considerations that apply to water-related developments in the Southern Gulf catchments. Detailed information is available in the companion technical reports on water planning arrangements (Vanderbyl, 2024) and regulatory requirements for land and water development (Speed and Vanderbyl, 2024). 3.5.1 Australian legal and policy context Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy consisting of six states and two territories. The Southern Gulf catchments straddle the border between Queensland and the NT, as shown in Figure 3-30. There are three levels of government: the Australian Government, state and territory governments, and local governments. The Australian Government has powers under the EPBC Act relating to matters of national environmental significance (including those arising from the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, and the Convention on Biological Diversity) and powers relating to the native title rights of Indigenous Peoples. Generally, the states and territories are responsible for land, water and environmental policy and laws. However, the NT is an administrative territory established by the Australian Government rather than a state. This means that, although it has been given similar powers to the states, the Australian Parliament retains a right of veto over all NT laws. Local governments are established within the states and territories and usually have responsibility for land use planning, which involves establishing local planning schemes that regulate land use and development. However, the planning system in the NT is administered by the NT Government rather than by local government. Laws made by the Australian Government will generally apply to activities in both the NT and Queensland. Laws made by the NT and Queensland governments, or local laws passed by a local government, will only be applicable within the relevant jurisdiction. 3.5.2 Key legal and regulatory requirements Land tenure and native title Proponents will need to secure appropriate tenure over the land of the proposed development site. Consideration should be given as to whether land tenure can be granted or transferred to the developer (or converted to a more suitable form of tenure) and whether any approvals will be required beyond those held by the current owner or lessee of the land. If the land is not freehold, native title requirements are likely to apply. In that case, the proponent will need to check if a native title determination has been made (or is underway) for the land, who the relevant parties are and whether the proposed development is consistent with the rights of native title holders. The proponent will then need to negotiate with the relevant native title holders for the area prior to undertaking development activities. If the proposed development is on Aboriginal freehold land in the NT, the proponent will need to obtain the consent of the Traditional Owners and approval from the relevant Aboriginal Land Council. If the proposed development is on pastoral lease land in the NT, the proponent will require approval for non-pastoral uses from the Pastoral Land Board. If the proposed development is on state land (including leasehold land) within Queensland, the proponent will need to comply with the requirements of the Queensland Land Act 1994. Authority to take water Proponents will need to secure an appropriate entitlement to take any water that may be required to construct and operate the development. An entitlement will usually be required to take surface water or groundwater. In the NT, this is likely to be in the form of a water licence, while in Queensland this would usually be either a water licence or a water allocation. Water entitlements may be purchased and transferred from an existing entitlement holder subject to state or territory requirements or constraints relating to water trading and the purpose of the water use. Alternatively, it may be possible to seek the grant of a new water entitlement from unallocated water reserves. In Queensland, water trading requirements and unallocated water reserves provisions are set out in the Water Plan (Gulf) 2007 (Figure 3-30) and its associated water management protocol. In the NT, such requirements are typically set out in water allocation plans. However, no such plans are currently applicable to that part of the Southern Gulf catchment, so options for securing water are limited. Planning requirements Proponents will need to ensure that their development will be consistent with local and state or territory planning requirements. This usually involves a formal application and assessment process. A single planning scheme applies across the NT, under which a proposed development may be categorised as: (i) permitted, (ii) merit assessable, (iii) impact assessable, or (iv) prohibited. NT Government websites provide detailed checklists and criteria for helping a proponent to determine the category applicable to their development proposal. A development permit will be required for developments categorised as merit assessable and impact assessable. In addition, the NT Planning Commission may prepare a significant development report to be considered in the assessment of the development permit where a proponent’s development is over a certain investment threshold. In Queensland, a proponent will require a development permit for any activities that are ‘assessable development’ under a planning scheme or planning instrument. The development assessment process is coordinated in the case of matters of state interest, including vegetation clearing and the granting of environmental authorities. In some instances a development may be able to obtain an ‘infrastructure designation’ under the Queensland Planning Act 2016, which would remove the need for a development permit for some activities. In addition, a proponent will require a regional interests development approval for broadacre cropping or water storage within a strategic environmental area. Environmental approvals Proponents will need to obtain approvals for certain activities that have a potential environmental impact, including any building or construction activities. A proponent may require federal environmental approval under the EPBC Act if a development has the potential to affect matters of national environmental significance. Federal environmental impact assessment requirements can be met through the NT or Queensland governments’ assessment processes, allowing for a more streamlined assessment process. However, the ultimate decision under the EPBC Act remains with the Australian Minister for the Environment and Water. In the NT, a proponent will require environmental approval for any actions that will have a significant impact on the environment or that are captured under a ‘referral trigger’. Where required, the NT Environment Protection Authority will undertake an environmental impact assessment. Such processes can take significant time to complete. Under Queensland law, a proponent will require environmental approval for an ‘environmentally relevant activity’, which may require an environmental impact statement. The application process is under the Queensland Planning Act development assessment framework. Cultural heritage Proponents will need to identify potential cultural heritage sites and/or objects (including Indigenous cultural heritage sites and/or objects) if a proposed development will affect cultural heritage at a federal and state or territory level. The proponent will need to undertake searches of the NT Heritage Register, the NT Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority register of sacred sites, the Queensland Heritage Register and the Queensland Cultural Heritage Register. National heritage values will also need to be considered through an environmental impact assessment process under the EPBC Act. A cultural heritage management plan is advisable (and may be required) for significant developments. Works in a watercourse Proponents will need approval to undertake any activities within a watercourse. In the NT, a proponent will require a permit under the Northern Territory Water Act 1992 to interfere with a watercourse (e.g. extraction of materials, construction within a waterway, or diversion of a watercourse). In Queensland, a proponent will require a permit under the Queensland Water Act 2000 to interfere with a watercourse, including for the construction of a barrier and the removal of vegetation or quarry material. Clearing vegetation Proponents will require approval to clear native vegetation to allow for construction or farming or other agricultural activities. Exemptions may apply for routine maintenance and day-to-day management activities. In the NT, restrictions apply to both freehold land (including Aboriginal freehold land) and pastoral leases. For clearing on pastoral land, permit applications are determined by the Pastoral Land Board. 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