Beneath a lush canopy of cabbage palms and paperbarks are the breathtakingly beautiful Mataranka Springs. People from all over the world come here to swim in these crystal-clear warm waters at the headwaters of the Roper River – one of the most important free-flowing tropical rivers in Northern Australia.

But a new government plan could put these incredible springs at risk.

The NT Government’s Mataranka Water Allocation Plan allows up to 62,000 megalitres of water to be extracted from the Mataranka Springs Tindall Limestone Aquifer each year – enough to fill more than 24,000 Olympic swimming pools that could stretch most of the way from Darwin to Alice Springs if laid end to end.

When decisions like these threaten Australia’s most precious ecosystems independent legal advocacy often becomes the last line of defence. This is exactly why Environmental Defenders Office exists.