The traditional owners of the Fitzroy River in Western Australia's Kimberley want the WA Government to impose a temporary ban on water allocations from the river until a promised management plan is put in place.
Nyikina woman Anne Poelina said a pause was needed to prevent the Fitzroy suffering a similar fate to the Murray-Darling.
"We can't be having knee jerk reactions in regards to allocation of water," she said.
"What we're saying is that we need a moratorium so that we can all work together and get the modelling and the science and the real impacts in terms of looking at how we can work together to prevent the disaster of the Murray-Darling Basin happening here in the Kimberley."
Water from the Fitzroy has been supporting the region's pastoral industry for decades.
What the traditional owners want to temporarily stop is the approval of any more water allocations.
Anne Poelina is speaking on behalf of nine native title groups, who have formed a council to represent the river's interests.
"As a national heritage listed river it belongs to all Australians and indeed the world," she said.
"So we have a duty of care as Australians to be protecting a globally unique river system that's not found anywhere else on the planet," she said.
Water needed for a brighter economic future
West Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart owns Liveringa Station, a cattle property backing onto the Fitzroy.
She is likely to be the landholder most affected by increased environmental protection in the area, including the WA Government's election promise to set up a Fitzroy River National Park.
The Chief Executive of the Kimberley and Pilbara Cattleman's Association, Emma White, said pastoralists only wanted a small portion of the river's huge flows.
"Each wet season there's an absolutely astronomical amount of water … that flows through and into the sea from the Fitzroy River," she said.
"Even if we're just talking about surface water harvesting that might involve 1-2 per cent of that, it's still a huge amount of water, yet very small in the grand scheme of the type of water flows going through the Fitzroy."
She argues the Fitzroy should be able to provide for pastoralists and traditional owners alike.
"The whole valley is in dire need of a bright future and economic development must be part of this conversation, given the significant socio-economic disadvantage issues at play," Ms White said.
"What we're hoping is this whole process helps the Fitzroy Valley stakeholders have the opportunity to look forward and plan for the longer term prosperity of all who live in the region."
The West Australian Government declined to comment but bureaucrats are expected to meet traditional owners in Perth today.
