Environment Minister’s new green mates
Erwin Chlanda
Erwin Chlanda
By ERWIN CHLANDA
Landcare NT won’t be joining the “activists and economic vandals” as Joshua Burgoyne calls them.
The Environment Minister isn’t talking about his government that will give an annual gift – no water rates to be paid – of 40 billion litres of Territory water a year, for 30 years, to the Chinese owned Fortune Agribusiness.
Mr Burgoyne (pictured) is talking about the the Arid Lands Environment Centre and the Environment Centre NT which had challenged in court the handout for the Singleton Station north of Alice Springs.
The legal action of the two NGOs failed but delayed the Fortune project and Mr Burgoyne axed their NT Government grants of $100,000 a year each.
The money will now go to Landcare NT, $150,000 a year for five years.
And that group has made it clear in an interview with the Alice Springs News that it will not take the government to court over environmental issues and, by extension, delay controversial projects.
“We are not in a position to be providing or undertaking any of that type of policy or advocacy work,” says Landcare NT CEO Emily Raso (pictured).
“It’s not in our constitution nor is it our core business. We are simply the recipients of a decision making by the government to support community volunteers.
"I’m not going to be drawn into the conversation you are trying to draw me into. I don’t think that’s fair to the volunteers and our organisation. Advocacy is not our core business.”
Ms Raso says Landcare NT assists 25 groups across the NT. The four in The Centre include the Land Management Association in Alice Springs, Olive Pink and Desert Knowledge Landcare.
The Landcare NT website names two projects.
One is the Darwin Harbour Catchment Waterways Project for which the Australian Government has provided $3.82m.
The other is the National Landcare Network set up with $2m “invested in developing community Landcare”.
No specific projects for Central Australia are mentioned.
PHOTO at top: Darwin high school students at a Landcare NT organised native planting. Landcare NT newsletter. EARLIER REPORTS
26/7/21 https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2021/07/26/massive-water-allocation-scandal-takes-new-turn/
27/7/21 https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2021/07/27/singleton-water-gift-back-to-the-drawing-board/
3/9/21 https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2021/09/03/government-gets-caning-over-singleton-water-gift/
1/8/24 https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2024/08/01/brawl-over-singleton-ground-water-continues/
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