Singleton Station
Singleton Station is a pastoral lease in Central Australia, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
History
Singleton Station is located on the traditional lands of the Kaytetye people, located 400 kilometres north of Mparntwe/Alice Springs, near the community of Ali Curung.[1]
It is now a 294,000 hectare pastoral property. The pastoral lease has been held by Fortune Agribusiness since 2016.[2][3]
Water licence controversy
In September 2020, Fortune Agribusiness applied to the Northern Territory Government for a licence to use the groundwater to develop one of Australia's largest fruit and vegetable farms over 3500-hectares of Singleton Station at a cost of $150 million.[3][4] In April 2021, the Northern Territory Government issued the 40,000 megalitre licence, the largest ever groundwater extraction licence ever granted in the Northern Territory.[5][6] Traditional Owners of the area opposed the project based on the risks to water supplies and the 29 sacred cultural sites within the drawdown area.[1][7] These concerns led to a formal review process[8] but the licence was regranted in November 2021 with additional conditions.[9]
In February 2022, the Central Land Council and the Arid Lands Environment Centre announced it had served claims against the Northern Territory Government and Fortune Agribusiness on the basis that Environment Minister Eva Lawler made a number of legal errors in approving the licence.[10]
References
- ^ a b Donaldson, Susan Dale (10 August 2021). "Singleton Water Licence Aboriginal Cultural Values Assessment" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "NT government urged to reject 'speculative' licence for its largest private water allocation". the Guardian. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Outback cattle station unveils $150 million irrigation plans". ABC News. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "'Half the volume of Sydney Harbour': Bid for massive desert water permit raises doubts". ABC News. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Alarm over Northern Territory's largest-ever groundwater extraction licence". the Guardian. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "A fight over water rights and sacred sites is coming to a head". ABC News. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Traditional Owners in NT water fight". NITV. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Water Resources Review Panel" (PDF). 14 October 2021.
- ^ "NT re-approves controversial water licence with new conditions". ABC News. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Native title holders and environmental group launch legal action over huge NT groundwater licence". ABC News. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.