In the red soil of the Top End, a new industry is emerging – Cotton. Examining the conflicts of interest that some say will lead to the destruction of some of the Northern Territory’s most famous tourism destinations.
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00:00They are the lifeblood of the Northern Territory.
00:11The big rivers, wild and free flowing.
00:17Fed by pristine springs and a network of ancient groundwater.
00:25Look at this place, it's deadly fishing, swimming, the tourists love it.
00:33Beneath the red dirt lies a vast water resource and here in the top end it's free.
00:41Developers are circling.
00:44It's absolutely a water grab.
00:49They're fighting for water from the top and down to the jacket.
00:53I think it comes back to this political imperative for development and I hate to say it, perhaps
00:59development at any cost.
01:03The red carpet is being rolled out for a new industry, cotton.
01:09It's a lucrative crop with a troubled history.
01:13We are not the Murray-Darling Basin.
01:15I think there is a sense that cotton is a dirty word.
01:21Now growers are eyeing off water, but access to it in the NT has been mired in secret deals
01:30and cosy relationships.
01:33This created really a dysfunctional arrangement.
01:36I had to ask, what hat are you wearing today?
01:40They should negotiate first before they started doing cotton here.
01:45The government is shutting down independent science.
01:50We're really at risk of establishing some kind of fake science war.
01:55Have you been told personally by department officials to keep quiet?
01:59Yes.
02:01And what's at stake goes well beyond politics.
02:05Without those flows they dry up.
02:07Look, it could be catastrophic, absolutely catastrophic.
02:11What is life without it?
02:13We'll all perish.