Water. The fight to take it - or to save it - might be the defining battle of our time on this drying continent.
The West Australian government is considering allowing up to 300 gigalitres of surface water to be taken out of the heritage listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River every year - that’s 300 billion litres.
The pastoralists who want to harness this water for irrigation say it’s a “once in a lifetime” chance to create hundreds of jobs and stimulate the economy of the Kimberley region.
But as traditional owners watch the Murray-Darling descend further into crisis, they’re desperate to avoid going down the same path.
ABC Radio National's Earshot program travels to Fitzroy Crossing – a town of strong leaders and wicked problems that is struggling to reconcile its traumatic past and create its own future.
