Traditional Owners call for stronger powers as WA releases draft Fitzroy-Derby water plan

Western Australia’s government has released a draft water management plan for the Fitzroy-Derby region, promising tighter controls on new development around the Martuwarra Fitzroy River but Traditional Owners say the proposal still falls short of the shared authority they have long sought for the river’s future.

The draft Fitzroy-Derby water management plan sets out how surface and groundwater could be managed across the region and is open for public comment until 30 June. The government says the plan aims to protect cultural, environmental and economic values while providing clearer rules for any future water use. Under the draft, no further licences would be granted for taking surface water from the Fitzroy River, leaving existing allocations in place.

Water Minister Don Punch said the planning work was shaped by local input. “Traditional Owners have played a central role in shaping this draft plan” he said when the document was released for consultation.

However, the Kimberley Traditional Owner Water Working Group, supported by the Kimberley Land Council (KLC), said the approach was not yet the genuine partnership needed to meet the environmental pressures on the river system. “Country is telling us that conditions are changing” the group said, pointing to the need for stronger safeguards and long-term decision-making arrangements.

The Working Group said it had spent years advocating for First Nations water rights and enduring involvement in water governance, arguing that agreements on paper must translate into practical power. “The response must be to act together, as equals,” the statement said.

KLC chief executive Tyronne Garstone said the legal framework itself needed updating to reflect that ambition. He said government must “modernise the legal framework to enable shared authority” so Traditional Owners have an enduring role in managing water for future generations.

The debate comes as the Fitzroy River remains at the centre of competing visions for the Kimberley. For Traditional Owners, the consultation period is another test of whether the state’s water law can move beyond consultation toward co-decision-making on a river system widely regarded as culturally irreplaceable.