Carp are the biggest driver of ecological collapse in the Murray

Carp are the biggest driver of ecological collapse in the Murray — yet they remain the problem no one is prepared to properly confront.

Independent analysis shows a science-led carp disease release, including cleanup, would cost $800 million to $2 billion in total. That is a one-off intervention designed to actually reduce carp numbers.

By contrast, the current “just add water” approach costs around $500 million every year, and it keeps rising. Carp populations grow by roughly 38% a year, meaning numbers can double every 2.7 years. As biomass increases, annual costs escalate, with projections showing $6–7 billion spent over the next decade simply maintaining failure.

The break-even point is clear. Even at the high end, a carp disease program pays for itself in three to four years. Every year after that avoids hundreds of millions of dollars in ongoing damage.

Despite this, the new environmental listing on the Lower Murray is being used to justify the same response again — stripping more productive water from Murray farmers, as if water removal is the only idea left. That policy path doesn’t cost millions. Over time, it costs hundreds of billions of dollars in lost food production, processing, jobs and national food security once productive water is gone for good.

At the same time, the governments says that the carp Herpes virus is too expensive. Yet Snowy Hydro 2.0 is now estimated at over $13 billion, including a $10 billion blowout, with another $5 billion in transmission infrastructure still required — and it’s still not finished.

Australians deserve the truth about water management.

That’s why we need a Royal Commission into Australian water.

Visit https://www.helendalton.com.au/royal-comission-into-water to learn more