{"id":780966,"date":"2026-07-05T17:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T17:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/780966\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T17:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T17:08:10","slug":"mass-fish-deaths-feared-as-minns-government-promise-to-restore-murray-darling-rivers-in-doubt-new-south-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/780966\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass fish deaths feared as Minns government promise to restore Murray-Darling rivers in doubt | New South Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New South Wales government plan to improve river flows after catastrophic fish deaths<\/a> in the northern Murray-Darling Basin is in doubt, after the federal government refused a $360m funding request.<\/p>\n

But environment advocates and experts say the NSW government must act on its promise to restore the Darling-Baaka river \u2013 and follow through on recommendations from its own expert panel \u2013 with one landholder warning of further fish kills as soon as next summer.<\/p>\n

Days after winning the 2023 election, the premier, Chris Minns, and senior state ministers visited Menindee and committed to an investigation<\/a> of the mass fish kills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since then, the state\u2019s water minister, Rose Jackson, said the government had developed a series of \u201cpotential rule-based changes to water sharing plans which we believe would deliver improved connectivity and significant long-term benefits for the Murray-Darling Basin\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said that she had written to the federal environment minister, Murray Watt, requesting support for the proposal and up to $360m \u201cfor water recovery towards the Basin Plan\u201d.<\/p>\n

The funding request \u2013 which Jackson said was \u201copen to negotiation\u201d \u2013 was rejected. On Friday, Jackson said her government \u201cis now considering next steps and other options for improving connectivity\u201d.<\/p>\n

The proposal came after the government established an expert panel under a program called the northern basin connectivity program<\/a>, which recommended limiting upstream over-extraction during dry periods, to help maintain flows in tributaries into the Darling-Baaka river down to Menindee Lakes. This was to try to reduce the risk of catastrophes like fish kills and large-scale drying.<\/p>\n

\"StaggeringStaggering amount of dead fish found at Menindee \u2013 video<\/p>\n

The panel delivered its final report two years ago, but the state government is yet to implement it.<\/p>\n

Stuart Le Lievre, a grazier on land between Tilpa and Louth in far-western NSW, said he was worried about the lack of action.<\/p>\n

Already, the Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared an El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> this year, a phenomenon linked to hotter and drier conditions for Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we do not get that northern basin connectivity program in it\u2019s entirety, the Barwon-Darling is terminal,\u201d Le Lievre said.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

He said that without reasonable flows \u201cthere will be another fish kill\u201d potentially as soon as summer, and believed it was the state government\u2019s responsibility to act regardless of federal funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur communities, our biodiversity \u2013 don\u2019t we deserve fresh water?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBourke will run out of water. Wilcannia, Tilpa, Louth will run out of water.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also what about our stock and domestic water for those that live on the river like I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cate Faehrmann, the NSW Greens\u2019 water spokesperson, said the northern basin connectivity program was meant to \u201cturn the tide on mass fish kills in the Barwon-Darling and blue green algae outbreaks across the northern basin\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs one of its signature water policies it beggars belief that the Minns government was expecting the Commonwealth to foot the entire bill [because] otherwise it would dump it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also, frankly, bizarre that after years of analysis, modelling and expert advice, they would just throw up their hands in despair and say it\u2019s all too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jackson has denied the program has been shelved.<\/p>\n

Emma Carmody, South Australia\u2019s River Murray commissioner, said \u201cconnectivity isn\u2019t optional\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what stands between a healthy river and fish kills, blue-green algae outbreaks, and communities left without safe water,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what\u2019s needed \u2013 mandatory, enforceable rules that protect flows all the way downstream and into Menindee Lakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carmody said the NSW government\u2019s decisions would affect other basin jurisdictions, including South Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater from Menindee Lakes supplies the River Murray, and when it arrives in poor condition, it\u2019s South Australian communities and the South Australian government left to manage the consequences and cover the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

A federal government spokesperson said the government was waiting for the outcome of several reviews, including of the basin plan and the Water Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome efforts by the NSW government to deliver genuine environmental outcomes by improving connectivity in the Northern Basin and will continue to work with them to secure long-term sustainability for Basin communities and the environment,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A New South Wales government plan to improve river flows after catastrophic fish deaths in the northern Murray-Darling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":780967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-780966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}