Bilby brawl brews in the Kimberley as pastoralists and miners turned away from workshop

Written on the 13 March 2017

Cattle producers and mining companies were turned away from a bilby workshop held in the Kimberley town of Fitzroy Crossing this week.

It is the latest sore spot in the ever-increasing tension between conservationists and those looking to develop the Kimberley region.

Why are bilbies such a hot topic?
It appears anyone looking to develop a project in the Kimberley right now needs to do a bilby survey.

Cattle stations looking to diversify, are now spending thousands of dollars on bilby surveys in order to get land clearing approvals from government and are required to do so whether there is prior evidence of bilbies or not.

Plans to expand the award-winning irrigation project on Mowanjum Station near Derby have been in limbo for almost a year because of issues surrounding bilbies.

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