29th July, 2024
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC), the state's leading environmental advocacy organisation, has today welcomed the release of the final report from the NSW Connectivity Expert Panel aimed at securing more water for the Darling/Baaka River, and urged Minister Jackson to accept its recommendations in full.
The report steps out what the bare minimum flow requirements are for the Darling/Baaka River to survive.
Statements attributable to NCC Water Campaigner Mel Gray:
"Implementing rules that don't provide the minimum water that the river needs will doom the Darling/Baaka River to more massive fish kills and inevitable ecological collapse.
"The Darling/Baaka is a critical lifeline and cultural place for traditional water custodians, who's sovereign rights under the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are embedded in Law.
"Failing to implement these recommendations would sacrifice dozens of towns and local economies along the river from Bourke to Wentworth, just to maintain the inflated profits of a few industrial cotton operations upstream."
Statement ends
