Petition:
STOP WILD RIVERS ON CAPE YORK

I am petitioning:

1. The Wilderness Society to stop pushing their support for Wild Rivers on Cape York Peninsula.
2. The Queensland Government to amend the Wild Rivers Act to enable indigenous consent on Wild River declarations.

Why Wild Rivers is wrong for Cape York

1. It has been imposed on Indigenous communities without their consent.
2. It ignores Indigenous people’s record of stewardship and proven conservation on Cape York.
3. It stifles sustainable economic opportunity, undermining Indigenous people’s attempts to get off welfare.
4. It is a backroom political deal that does nothing to stop large scale mining or uranium mining on Cape York Peninsula.
5. It will mire communities in red tape, forcing local Indigenous people, wanting to make a living from small business, to negotiate a minefield of bureaucracy.
6. It removes the opportunity promised by land rights and dwarfs the gains made by the long fought battles of the Wik and Mabo.

Key Issues

The Indigenous people of Cape York Peninsula have cared for their environment for more than 40 000 years. Conservation of the land and the environment is intrinsically linked to the culture of the local indigenous people. These communities have proven themselves to be the best stewards and safeguards of Cape York’s precious environment.

In 2005 the Queensland Government ignored the views of local Indigenous people by passing the Wild Rivers Act. Wild Rivers was the result of a backroom political deal between the Wilderness Society and the Queensland Government.

In 2009 the Queensland Government declared 3 Wild River Basins on Cape York without the consent of the local Indigenous communities. These declarations were widely opposed. The submissions of the Traditional Owners were ignored and both the Wilderness Society and the Queensland Government denied the Traditional Owners an extension of time for lodging their submissions.

The Queensland Government is committed to declaring another 9 Wild River basins on Cape York. This means that most of Cape York will be under Wild River declarations by 2010. There are already 38 National Parks and 36 additional Conservation Areas on Cape York.

The Wilderness Society is supportive of the Queensland’s Government’s push for Wild Rivers without Indigenous consent.

Support Give us a Go, Let us Grow

Give us a Go, Let us Grow believes in a balanced approach to conservation - one that applies the invaluable knowledge inherited through generations of interaction with the land and environment AND maintains the right of Indigenous people to determine their own future.

We believe that local indigenous communities are the best stewards and safeguards of Cape York and that the local communities have a right to interact with their land and create a livelihood where they live.

The Wild Rivers Act destroys Indigenous people’s right to grow by banning sustainable enterprises like barramudi farms and boutique fruit farms.

Sadly, it excludes Indigenous people from driving environmental outcomes on their land.

Thank you for supporting Give Us a Go by signing our petition to STOP the Wilderness Society and the Queensland Government pushing Wild Rivers on Cape York.