The whole Ord River scheme sat there for 30 yrs with no one using it. It was set up to turn the northern desert into a green growing zone. The main thing is that it is being used now. The Chinese are very industrious, and they have set up big farms to grow many types of broad acre crops. One the crops is water cress, and they will hope to meet the demand in China . They just pay to use the land on a long lease.
An article from 2015.
The Chinese-backed company developing the Ord River Irrigation Area in Western Australia's east Kimberley is harvesting its first crop.