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EXPERT REACTION: Federal Government report on the Murray Darling fish deaths

Embargoed until: Publicly released:

It has just been reported that the government commissioned report on the Murray Darling Basin fish kills has been released. The federal government has committed to buy back 'A class' water licenses issued under the controversial Barwon Darling water sharing plan, after an independent report into the fish kills recommended a major refinement of basin management.

Organisation/s: University of South Australia, The University of Queensland, Australian Academy of Science, The Australian National University, Southern Cross University

Media release

Academy expert panel responds to Government report on fish deaths

The Independent Assessment of fish deaths in the lower Darling final report released by Minister David Littleproud today is a welcome contribution to the growing evidence base to help inform action to improve the health of Australia’s rivers.

ANU Professor Craig Moritz FAA, who chaired the multidisciplinary panel of experts convened by the Australian Academy of Science, said although the scope and expertise of the Government and Academy expert panels differ in parts, there is strong consensus across both reports.

This includes agreement on:

  • The immediate causes of the fish kills, with severe drought and extreme temperatures as major contributors, and the latter being attributable to ongoing climate change;
  • The strong likelihood that increased upstream diversions have contributed to deteriorating flow regimes in the Darling River;
  • The need for improved measurement of all diversions, monitoring of river conditions, and modeling of the system as a whole for management and policy needs, the last including better modeling of the effects of climate change on the Northern Basin;
  • The need for Water Resource Plans now under development by NSW and QLD to:
    1. fully consider downstream flow requirements; and
    2. implement active management to ensure that low flows are maintained and that environmental flows are protected and effective.
  • The opportunity to rethink how state and federal agencies manage the Menindee Lakes system for improved environmental and social outcomes;
  • The need for stronger engagement with local communities in advising on management strategies and participating in their implementation;
  • The need to support research that is essential to management actions that will improve understanding of the hydro-ecology of the system, restore and maintain the health of fish populations and enable more effective intervention as critical conditions approach;
  • The importance of the Murray Darling Basin Plan as the key instrument for managing water for environmental and social needs.

Professor Craig Moritz said the Academy’s expert panel welcomed recent moves by the Murray Darling Basin Authority to increase engagement with local stakeholders, including Indigenous elders, in river management, and to improve the understanding of climate change impacts on the system.

Expert Reaction

These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.

Professor Craig Moritz is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and is from the College of Science at the Australian National University (ANU)

Announcements from both the Federal Government and Opposition of initiatives to address some of the recommendations from each of the reports are also welcome, though more remains to be done.

If we are to successfully manage this system, especially as climate becomes more challenging, a bipartisan approach will be important.

Last updated: 10 Apr 2019 3:21pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Caroline Sullivan is a researcher of Environmental Economics and Policy at Southern Cross University

The coincidence of conditions required for a major fish kill do not often happen in nature.  Certainly, long dry spells and unexpected cold snaps can and do occur, but in an unregulated river regime, fish and other aquatic life take advantage of the deep pools and eddies characteristic of most natural river profiles. Unfortunately in a river system such as the Murray Darling, the diversions created by human water extraction, and the infrastructure to support that, often remove the capacity of the river itself to provide adequate water to provide such temperature regulation. This reduction of flows also necessarily impacts on pollutant concentrations, giving rise to a dramatic fall in river health. This is particularly true in river reaches where run-off from industrial, agricultural and urban activities are inadequately controlled.

The Murray Darling Basin Plan represents a huge investment by the federal and state governments to try and get the management of this massive river system under control.  Even the best available science is subject to uncertainty, and given the multitude of topics relevant to this debate, it is inevitable that some management and policy failure will occur. While measures can be taken on to address these shortcomings, it is essential that we acknowledge more explicitly the value of the natural capital base on which all our livelihoods depend.  The natural capital components of the basin (the soils, vegetation, below ground biodiversity, hydrological and ecological connectivity and their interdependence) must be put at the core of our decision making. We must recognise that in the MDB, we are trying to manage a socio-hydrological system which is bigger than some countries in Europe, and this system is made up largely of components which cannot be easily valued in monetary terms. As long as we fail to recognise this, no amounts of money thrown at the problems of the basin will provide real, long-term solutions.

Last updated: 10 Apr 2019 1:08pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
No conflicts.
Professor Jennifer McKay is Professor of Business Law at the University of South Australia

The fish kills were partly an issue of a messy mosaic of laws.
 
The Independent Assessment of the fish deaths report has gathered scientific, cultural and economic data to work out why the fish kills occurred. The three factors they looked at were climatic conditions, hydrology and water management (macro level of the NSW and Qld Government) and Menindee Lakes operations (Water NSW and MDBA).

The 27 recommendations for policymakers and water managers had the key theme of cooperation and connectivity via structural measures (aerators and removal of barriers to fish movement) and through collaboration between governments.

The excellent report brings to the table a clarion call for deeper and prolonged cooperation underpinned by science. The messy mosaic of state laws needs to be streamlined and better processes put in place to engage all stakeholders in this complex issue of water management.

The fish kills were a sad symptom of the messy mosaic of laws. We need to find ways to mandate cooperation and view the water plans as part of a jigsaw of laws. The overarching aim is to preserve fish and all aquatic life.

Last updated: 10 Apr 2019 12:53pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor John Quiggin is an Australian Laureate Fellow in Economics at the University of Queensland

The government’s announcement that it will relax its previous ban on water buybacks is welcome news. This will go some way to repairing the damage caused by politically-driven mismanagement. Whether the change will be sufficient remains to be seen.

Last updated: 10 Apr 2019 12:52pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

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