Protect the Martuwarra Fitzroy River before it becomes another Murray-Darling

May 26, 2026 — 2:46pm

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I’ve watched what happens when governments let water extraction get ahead of science, enforcement and common sense.

It doesn’t end in prosperity. It ends with communities staring at a dying river, asking how it was allowed to happen.

Western Australia faces a choice about its own Martuwarra Fitzroy River.

The decisions set through the Fitzroy-Derby water plan will determine whether this extraordinary Kimberley river remains healthy – or becomes the next Australian system we try to fix only after we’ve broken it.

In 2019, on the Darling (Barka) river in NSW, I stood knee-deep in a shrinking pool and held a dead Murray cod in my arms. Around me, thousands more fish died in the mud and heat.

Millions of Australians saw the images. Many were shocked. Those of us on the river weren’t surprised – we’d been........

© WA Today