Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

-YOUNG () (): I rise today to speak on the catastrophe that is unfolding in outback New South Wales right now, in the western part of that state: the environmental catastrophe on the Darling-Baaka. The mass fish kill that unfolded over the last few days has again just brought to the nation's attention the sheer crisis that our Murray-Darling Basin is in. Whether it is in flood or in drought, this river system is being managed badly. Over and over again we are seeing the warning signs from scientists and experts that unless we start managing this river system with the key objective of keeping it alive, nature is going to continue to try to fight back. And that is what's happening. This river is struggling: the fish are dying and the community in Menindee, in particular, is suffering.

And, of course, this mass fish kill is only a few years after the last one, where we were told that this would not happen again and where we were told that the management of the river system would be improved. Today's fish kill is 10 times worse than that which happened in 2019—10 times worse! And what has occurred with the $70 million that was promised? Where has that gone? Why hasn't the previous government and the government of New South Wales implemented the recommendations of the report from the last time millions of fish died on the Darling-Baaka? Of course, these are native fish—some of them endangered. The Murray cod is already struggling to survive. It is time for the environment minister to pick up— (Time expired)