Development of Northern Australia “The Northern Food Bowl”

Australia's Fauna Extinction Crisis - HAVE YOUR SAY by filling out the Survey

Farmers Network are asking
1.That Government on all sides agree to reverse Australia's Fauna Extinction Crisis as a priority.
2. We are calling for a ban on large scale clearing for expansion of industrialized agriculture.
3. Investment for farm bio-diversity by creating, expanding and protecting all riparian wildlife corridors.  Self Regulation is not working

Farmers Network are saying: There is a Senate Enquiry into “Australia’s Fauna Extinction Crisis”. The loss of extensive areas of native vegetation is the main cause of wildlife decline across the world. The savannas of Northern Australia are internationally significant and ecotourism in these areas is a growing and sustainable use. Agricultural expansion in Northern Australia is inappropriate if the natural values of the north are to be protected.

Potentially, an area almost the size of Victoria, (including the damning of our wild rivers) will be cleared to make way for AGRICULTURE EXPANSION for Cotton, Rice, Sugar Cane, Cattle Expansion perhaps including Live Exports Expansion.  These crops demand a high uptake of nitrogen, and water usage and fertilizers).

Refer: Website: www.csiro.au/en/NAWRA: The Federal Government employed more than 100 scientists at a cost of $15million, to investigate three priority river catchment areas across three states in 2.5 years, to enable expansion of irrigated agriculture. an area almost the size of Victoria These include:

• the Fitzroy catchment in Western Australia
• the Finniss, Adelaide, Mary and Wildman river catchments in the Northern Territory
• the Mitchell catchment in Queensland. This information is taken from the Federal Government Website

www.csiro.au/en/NAWRA

Full article in PDF can be downloaded here.