The Wilderness Society in Queensland expressed confidence that the state's five-year-old Wild Rivers Act would breeze through a scheduled federal scrutiny as it stressed that the legislation not only protects rivers systems in Cape York but also encourages sustainable development.

Society spokesman Dr Tim Seelig said on Friday that the environmental legislation would pass the test of the federal parliament as he expressed optimism that the federal government would realise the merits of the act that mainly protects the environment and still allow the influx of industrial development.

Dr Seelig stressed that the legislation is only aimed to suppress "large scale constructive development like mining, like damming, like intensive irrigation in and very close to some of the most pristine rivers in the country."

On the other hand, AgForce Queensland, which is opposing the act for allegedly overlooking the essence of ecological sustainable development, welcomed the federal inquiry as group vice president Ian Burnett pointed out that management of the area's environment is best left to the original land owners.

Mr Burnett noted that "we've got to remember that for many years now land holder members and land holders have been managing this environment," as he added that the traditional owners' good handling of the environment have so far preserved the area's original condition.

Federal opposition leader Tony Abbot filed a bill to overturn the legislation while the federal government opted to establish an inquiry to further dig into the true merits of the state act but Wik landowner leader Gina Castelain travelled from Cape York to Canberra to throw her support on the act and oppose Mr Abbot's initiatives to kill the Wild Rivers Act.

Ms Castelain argued that the legislation does not eliminate economic development in the Cape York area but rather stimulate sustainable businesses such as her community-owned tourism operation that renders fishing and eco-tourism on the wild river area.

She stressed that the business is even expanding as she pointed out that the legislation "actually helps the business become even more successful being a declared wild river area."