MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 13th November, 2024
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC), the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, has today joined in calls from the NSW Government for an end to the spread of misinformation regarding the Reconnecting River Country Program in the Murrumbidgee and the NSW Murray.
The program is a critical policy to allow environmental water to seep into the floodplains and replenish wetlands, returning ecosystem function to entire stretches of these iconic rivers.
The NSW DCCEEW confirms the current flows being considered are very modest, typically occurring from August to October for a few days between three to five times in a decade. The heights being proposed would only cause a minor rise in the river.
NCC Water Campaigner Mel Gray said:
“It’s heartening to hear confirmed what we know – that a lot of farmers and river land holders support the program and are appreciative of environmental flows.
“The land along the rivers is rich and valuable to people and wildlife because it has been regularly watered for thousands of years.
“We have disrupted that important ecosystem process, and as a result the wetlands and floodplains of the Murrumbidgee and Murray are spiraling into collapse.
“To reverse this ecological collapse, it is vital that environmental water be allowed to soak into the country.”
For this ecological repair to occur, the NSW Government is negotiating easement arrangements and other projects like fencing and raising bridges with landholders.
“This project has multiple benefits, for the community and for the rivers and wetlands of the Basin. It is important that exaggerated claims of impending destruction are dispelled, and the whole community has a well-informed, rational discussion.”
Statement ends
Media contact: Anna Greer
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Note: Spokespeople are available for comment on request