DARLING River, New South Wales, grazier Rob McBride has delivered a video warning Western Australians and the WA government to keep irrigation out of the Fitzroy River.
Mr McBride, a fourth-generation pastoralist and owner of Tolarno Station, saw more than a million fish die in the Murray-Darling in 2019 and said he did not want the Fitzroy River and the community to suffer the same fate.
Mr McBride said seeing the damage done to the Darling River was heartbreaking and he called on the WA government to protect the Fitzroy River and stop any water extraction plans.
"Rivers are the lifeblood of our country and our children's futures," Mr McBride said.
"See what happened to the Darling (Barka) River we do not want that same destruction to the river, environment and traditional owners on the Fitzroy River," he said.
"Cotton and irrigation continue to be a cancer in our river systems, with no consideration of the damage done to traditional owners, communities or the environment.
"I am calling on Western Australians and the WA government to not believe the lies and promises of growth, profits and jobs, when the reality is irrigation kills fragile river ecosystems.
"Please look at the South Australian royal commission into water and you will see what irrigation and cotton did.
"It's led to the death of the Darling (Barka) River and millions of fish."
In 2017, Premier Mark McGowan made an election commitment to stop dams and create the Fitzroy River National Park to protect the river.
The Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA's campaign to stop the proposed Fitzroy River National Park was another attempt by irrigators to extract huge amounts of water from the river, Mr McBride said.
The Kimberley - Like Nowhere Else campaign co-ordinator Monique Barker said WA had to learn from the mistakes of the Murray-Darling.
"The Fitzroy River is not a boundless source of wasted water as some in industry promote, in reality the river is parched in as many years as it floods," Ms Barker said.
"Basing development on the myth of endless water will only lead to pain for industry, local people and the river.
"Surface water harvesting has led to the ecological collapse of rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin, it's critical the same mistakes are not made in WA.
"Unlike irrigation, the proposed Fitzroy River National Park will create meaningful and long-term employment for the Fitzroy Valley community, supporting economic opportunities and jobs in tourism and land management."
"This national park will protect important stretches of the upper Fitzroy River including ancient gorges and help implement the McGowan Government's historic 'no dams' commitment.
"It will make an important contribution to safeguarding the outstanding biodiversity and cultural values of the Fitzroy River, recognised in the 2011 National Heritage Listing.
"The Fitzroy River has outstanding value globally.
"Its unrestricted flow supports critically endangered species like the sawfish, but also the livelihoods of thousands of people who rely on the river to enrich their lives though culture, recreation and food."
