The Western Davenport water allocation plan "unmasks the Northern Territory government's disregard for Aboriginal rights and sites and lacks social licence", the Central Land Council says.

CLC chief executive Les Turner said the plan follows "pretend consultations" with Traditional Owners, disrespects their concerns about site protection, their rights and interests in water, and is opposed by the government's own water advisory committee for the region.

The Turner said the "so-called consultation process" consisted of two misleading presentations by government water planners who "spruiked out-of-date information".

"Traditional owners might as well have stayed away since the plan only pays lip service to the concerns they raised."

He said the NT government "pretends on the international stage to respect (our) cultural and ecological knowledge".

"Minister Lauren Moss' address to the United Nations General Assembly last month was at odds with the government's continued and complete contempt for Aboriginal cultural and environmental values when it comes to water planning.

"The draft Western Davenport water allocation plan it has released for public comment offers no protection for our sites and the environment.

"The government has failed to seek their prior informed consent and share decision-making – principles it promised to uphold under the Closing the Gap reforms and in the international arena."

Alekarenge community leader Graham Beasley raised concerns about the long term implications of the plan.

"That's our country. We should be involved. What's going to happen to our sacred trees?" he said.

"That's our culture – we can't give it away. They have already taken everything. What more do they want?"

The Central Land Council said the water advisory committee for the Western Davenport region north-east of Alice Springs had rejected two earlier iterations of the plan, but continued to work with the government in good faith.

The committee unanimously advised the NT government that its estimate of how much water can be sustainably extracted is too high.

CLC said Traditional Owners fear the draft plan puts their sites, plants and animals at great risk, and that while protecton of Aboriginal cultural values was an objective under the old plan, under the new draft "they merely need to be considered as one set of values amongst many others when issuing water licences".

Mr Turner said this state of affairs is unacceptable because many sacred sites and practices in the region depend on groundwater and the ecosystems it sustains.

"Any drop in the water table risks irreversible damage to sacred springs, soakages and trees. Our country and culture will be sacrificed if water extraction is not carefully managed and limited," he said.

"The plan has now been rejected for the second time and has no social license... The government has released it because its process of box-ticking has finally hit a brick wall."

A Northern Territory government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times: "The Draft Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan was developed with input from the Western Davenport and Ti Tree Water Advisory Committee and is still open for consultation until the 14th May 2023."

She noted that until then, the community can continue to have their say via the government's Have Your Say website's water management page.