FISH KILL FIX -$25 MILLION, BUT ALL IN THE WRONG PLACES

Following the 2018-2019 and 2023 fish kills in the Darling River, the NSW government has committed to spending $25 million dollars on temporary solutions and overspent business cases.

This $25 million dollar investment is broken down into:

$6 million being spent just to complete a "detailed business case" for the permanent structure that is desperately needed.

$5 million for monitoring water quality and developing data frameworks—essentially spending millions to continue studying the problem rather than fixing it.

$4.5 million is being used to design a "response sub-plan" for future mass fish deaths, institutionalizing a reactive approach instead of a preventative one.

Another $1.7 million will be spent to "set up a new governance model," adding another layer of bureaucracy.

We need real-cost effective-long term solutions such as the building of a permanent fishway in Menindee, or the removal of carp, instead of these band aid solutions.