Native Title holders and Traditional Owners have called on the Central Land Council (CLC) to appeal a Northern Territory court ruling that upheld a licence to extract water from Singleton Station.
Last month, the Northern Territory Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by the Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation, three years after it first challenged the NT government's decision to grant a licence allowing the extraction of up to 40 gigalitres of groundwater per year. The water would be used to irrigate a large, export-oriented horticulture project in the desert.
The Singleton licence is the largest volume of groundwater ever allocated — free of charge — in the Territory's history.
Mpwerempwer members, the Native Title holders for Singleton Station, have now asked Central Land Council chief executive Les Turner to seek leave to appeal the decision in the High Court.
In a statement, the CLC confirmed it would represent Mpwerempwer in the case.
At a May meeting in Tennant Creek, Mr Turner said Elder Ned Kelly shared his concerns, stating: "I am worried about this station."
"This Mpwerempwer is a powerful place. It covers all this area. It is a powerful story there."
Mr Turner said Traditional Owners have made their position clear.
"They will never stop fighting against the licence that threatens their sacred sites and their communities' water security," he said.
"The appeal is one of the avenues open to them."
In February 2024, Mpwerempwer appealed the NT Supreme Court's earlier decision to dismiss its legal challenge against the water licence.
That challenge began two years prior, when Mpwerempwer and the Arid Lands Environment Centre took legal action against then-NT Families Minister Kate Worden's approval of the 30-year licence for Fortune Agribusiness.
At the time of the appeal, Mr Turner highlighted the scale of the water allocation, saying: "We are talking about emptying Sydney Harbour twice, about giving away water worth hundreds of millions of dollars."
Despite ongoing legal challenges, Native Title holders have agreed to participate in an environmental assessment of Fortune Agribusiness's plan to develop the site for export horticulture.
While the NT Environment Protection Authority assesses whether the company's commitments to safeguarding sacred sites, hunting and gathering grounds, and other culturally significant places, are adequate, no groundwater can be extracted by the company.
A CLC spokesperson said Native Title holders intend to show the licence would damage sacred sites and pose serious environmental risks.
In December, Land Councils across the Northern Territory criticised the CLP government for making "significant" changes to water allocation planning without consulting Traditional Owners.
Mr Turner emphasised that for Traditional Owners, the stakes could not be higher.
"They told me that if the licence goes ahead, their precious groundwater-dependent sites will disappear, leaving them with nowhere to teach their young people and carry on their ceremonies," he said.
Additional reporting by Giovanni Torre
