New Aboriginal women-led group in Moree launches push for water rights

A new Aboriginal women-led advocacy group, the Gamilaroi Water Carriers, has been launched following the Growing up on the Mehi Water Gathering in Moree, with members calling for the recognition of Aboriginal cultural rights and compensation for historic dispossession.

The gathering, held last week in Moree, brought together over 40 Elder Aboriginal women to place their voices at the centre of the water debate in the Murray Darling Basin.

The Gathering reaffirmed the cultural law the elders have speaking for their community and the responsibilities they have in relation to water.

The gathering brought together over 40 Elder Aboriginal women.

Organisers say the elder women are grief-stricken about the worsening condition of rivers across the region, resulting in the loss of their stories, totems and culture.

“The river is our mother, it is a part of us. It’s where we come from; it holds our DNA,” Polly Cutmore, a Gamilaroi Traditional Owner, said. “We want her back.”

At the Gathering, women shared memories of life on the river, when waterways sustained families with clean water, food, culture and recreation. They say those same rivers are now degraded, with poor flows, toxic blue-green algae threatening ecosystems and community wellbeing.

“Irrigation has destroyed the ecosystems that support the river and it’s killing us,” said Aunty Marlene Werebone, who grew up on the Mehi River.

The group is calling for compensation for the loss of cultural and economic rights tied to water, arguing that water licensing, water markets and entitlement systems were imposed without the free, prior and informed consent of Aboriginal Traditional Owners.

“We, the Elders of this Country, have never been told about what is going on with our rivers, with decisions that have driven the ongoing theft and alienation from Country and culture. Compensation must now be a priority.” Sheila French, Elder Gamilaroi woman, said.

The caucus says it will take its message to local, state and federal governments, calling for a new approach to water governance that recognises Aboriginal law, connection to Country and the central role of women in caring for water.

“It is time for restitution for the loss of rights that were never acknowledged and never ceded,” Ms Cutmore said.