Cape York moratorium
In a 2004 election commitment, the Queensland Government identified the following river basins on Cape York Peninsula as potential wild river areas:
- the Jardine, Ducie, Wenlock, Watson, Archer, Holroyd and Coleman river basins on the western Peninsula
- the Jackey Jackey, Olive-Pascoe, Lockhart, Stewart and Jeannie river basins on the eastern Peninsula.
Wild river declarations took effect in the Archer Basin, Lockhart Basin and Stewart Basin on 3 April 2009 and the Wenlock Basin on 4 June 2010. There is no moratorium in effect in any of these basins.
Moratorium notice
The then Minister for Natural Resources and Water introduced a moratorium on water licence applications and the construction of new works for the taking of or interfering with water in the Cape York Peninsula Area effective from 25 January 2007.
The moratorium notice was amended on 23 July 2008 and again on 10 December 2008. The current notice is an amendment moratorium notice (PDF, 87K)* which took effect from 10 December 2008.
The moratorium applies to the taking of, or interfering with, water in streams, subartesian aquifers and overland flow. It also provides for water to be available for certain purposes (e.g. town water supplies) during the moratorium period.
The moratorium does not apply to the taking of water for stock or domestic purposes.
More information
Contact us for further information on the moratorium.
- Moratorium information for Cape York Peninsula (PDF, 32K)*
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 9 November 2010