The Living Heart of Australia
Channel Country—part of the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre Basin—is a vast network of river channels, floodplains, ancient seabeds and desert ecosystems. Floodwaters flowing from the Great Dividing Range spread across the landscape before evaporating, entering the artesian basin or, during major floods, flowing into Kati Thanda / Lake Eyre. The rivers support endangered fish species including the Cooper Creek catfish, red-finned blue-eye and Edgbaston goby. During flood events, the wetlands and floodplains provide feeding and breeding grounds for enormous numbers of birds, with millions gathering across the region. The area is also deeply significant to First Nations peoples, with evidence of occupation extending back at least 20,000 years. Twenty Aboriginal clans are connected to the region, and the waterways feature prominently in cultural stories connected to species including Mowana (budgerigar), Multhuri (pelican) and Magwiri (stork).
Threats to the Basin
The Channel Country region has faced threats from overgrazing, cotton production, mining and shale gas fracking. From 2005 to 2014, parts of the region were protected under Queensland’s Wild Rivers Act. When the legislation was repealed in 2014, the region became increasingly exposed to oil and gas exploration. Companies including Santos, Blue Energy and Origin Energy were granted petroleum or exploration licences across the basin. Although Origin surrendered its leases in 2023, campaigners warned that the floodplains and rivers remained vulnerable without permanent legal protections.
The Campaign
Local communities, graziers, Traditional Owners and conservation groups mobilised to defend the river systems from industrial development. The Wilderness Society worked alongside alliances that included the Pew Charitable Trusts, Lock the Gate Alliance, Environmental Defenders Office, WWF Australia, Queensland Conservation Council and BirdLife Southern Queensland. The Wilderness Society also facilitated meetings between Indigenous groups and cattle graziers to build support for protecting the floodplain systems. Between 2015 and 2020, the Palaszczuk Government repeatedly committed to protecting the region but did not introduce permanent safeguards. Public pressure continued to grow. In 2023, more than 22,000 submissions were lodged supporting stronger protections for the rivers and floodplains of Channel Country. In December 2023, Premier Steven Miles announced a ban on new oil and gas development across the region. In 2024, the Queensland Government formally legislated protections preventing future oil and gas expansion in Channel Country.
Legacy
The Channel Country campaign became one of Australia’s major modern river protection campaigns. It highlighted the global significance of free-flowing desert rivers and demonstrated the power of alliances between conservation groups, graziers and First Nations communities. As Hannah Schuch said:
“This isn’t just a decision that matters locally, but globally. The Channel Country rivers are amongst some of the last free-flowing rivers left on Earth, while the floodplains are important feeding and breeding grounds. This incredible landscape holds tens of thousands of years of cultural heritage, supports livelihoods and feeds Kati-Thanda/Lake Eyre in South Australia.”