Send an email to the NSW Premier, Water Minister and Environment Minister, calling on them to take urgent action to stop mass fish kills on the Darling/Baaka.
Last year’s mass fish kill was the worst in living memory. But the NSW government has said they’re going to put off addressing the problem for almost two years!
The NSW government has the power and responsibility to increase flows down the Darling/Baaka, reducing the risk of massive fish kills happening again. This year they were handed an independent report with a blueprint for fixing the issues, but instead of acting with the urgency the Darling/Baaka River needs, they’re kicking the can down the road.
We can’t let this tragedy go forgotten. A million dead fish deserve a better response than delay tactics. Will you add your voice and call on the NSW government to take urgent action now?
The Murray-Darling Basin is a living network of interconnected rivers, creeks and wetlands. A crisis on the Darling/Baaka is a crisis for the whole river system and we all need to speak up, no matter what state we live in.
In July this year, the NSW government was handed an independent report that contained a blueprint for reviving the Darling/Baaka River. By adjusting when water could be taken from connected rivers like the Border Rivers, the Gwydir and the Namoi, the Darling/Baaka would receive: a base flow most of the time; a small flush of water every year; and a larger flush every second year
It could offer the bare minimum to keep the Darling/Baaka alive, and reduce the risk of future massive fish kills. And all it requires is a reduction of water used for irrigation of between four and six percent across the the Border Rivers, Gwydir and Namoi catchments.
But instead of acting on this independent expert advice, the NSW government’s response has been to delay any significant response for almost two years, and reject any independent oversight of the process.
We’re worried nothing will happen without public pressure from right across the Basin – including from people like you and me in Victoria. So we’ve joined forces with Nature Conservation Council of NSW to send this shared message to NSW Ministers, on behalf of everyone who cares about healthy rivers. If NSW feels pressure from right across the Basin – upstream and downstream, every state and territory – they’ll know that they can’t get away with doing next to nothing.