Aboriginal Waterways Assessments completed

Two Aboriginal Waterways Assessments (AWAs) have now been completed in Queensland as part of an initiative to increase Traditional Owners’ participation in water planning and management in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin.

Minister for Environment Leeanne Enoch said these waterways assessments were the first to be conducted in Queensland, and were based on the Māori Cultural Health Index, developed in New Zealand.

“These Aboriginal Waterways Assessments allow river and wetland ecosystems to be assessed on their health from the perspective of Traditional Owners,” Ms Enoch said.

“The index was adapted for the Murray-Darling Basin’s Traditional Owners by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the two peak representative bodies for Aboriginal Nations in the Murray-Darling Basin – the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations and the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations.

“Githabul Traditional Owners and Kunja Traditional Owners and Knowledge Holders worked with the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations and South West NRM to complete the Aboriginal Waterways Assessments.

“The assessments were undertaken in April and May 2018 with support from the Department of Environment and Science (DES), the Department of Natural Resources Mines and Energy, and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

“Eleven culturally important sites, chosen by Githabul Traditional Owners, were assessed along the Condamine River in the Warwick area.

“A further eight culturally important sites, chosen by the Kunja Traditional Owners and Knowledge Holders, were assessed along the Lower Warrego River in the Cunnamulla area.”

Ms Enoch said these two waterway assessments were part of a program of six AWAs planned for the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin under this initiative.

Ms Enoch also said all the information generated by each AWA is the intellectual property of the Traditional Owner group.

At the end of the assessment the information is compiled into a report that can then be used by the Traditional Owner group to advocate for outcomes for their waterways.

“Among other things, we can use the information we gather from the assessments to help us improve the condition of sites that are important to us,” Githabul Traditional Owners, Delphine Charles and Melissa Chalmers said.

“For example, the information can assist with any future funding applications we make for projects like streambank stabilisation or revegetation.

“The health of our waterways is important not only for the overall environment, but also for the cultural, spiritual and ceremonial practices of Traditional Owners.”

Kunja Traditional Owners Maureen McKellar and Jackie McKellar-Garrett said Traditional Owners and knowledge holders recently undertook a waterways assessment along the Warrego River, South West Queensland.

They said Kunja participants were enabled to undertake training in the collection of data, and other assessment tools at the outset of this project.

Keely Hooper-Monaghan, 20, of Cunnamulla and Reece McDermott, 17, of Toowoomba were among the participants. 

"It is a different learning experience that I have not had before and would like to come out again," Keely said. 

"I am so proud to be a Kunja person and found that everything I learnt is so interesting," Reece said.  

Ms Enoch said the AWA initiative helped document information about how Traditional Owners value and use the waterways on Country, preserving that knowledge for future generations.

“The initiative also provides enhanced cultural awareness for the Queensland Government staff involved in the project,” she said.

“Future Aboriginal Waterways Assessments are being planned in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin, and will be undertaken throughout the rest of 2018.”

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