Member for Murray Helen Dalton says carp are a threat to the Murray Darling Basin that has been ignored by the NSW Government.

The outspoken member described the introduced species as “the rabbits of our rivers” and compared the current numbers of carp to the rabbit plagues of the 1930s.

“This week’s release of the government’s Alternatives to Buybacks Plan completely ignores one of the greatest environmental threats to our river systems – invasive and destructive Carp,” Mrs Dalton said.

“Carp eradication is possibly the most effective environmental water saving measure we have at our disposal to avoid water buybacks that will undeniably destroy rural and remote communities and our economy.”

The Independent Member accused the Minns government of “pretending to protect” regional communities with the plan.

“This so-called plan is just a wish-list of projects that don’t stack up and will never be taken up by the Commonwealth,” Helen said.

“If the NSW government really wants to protect regional communities, it needs to ban Commonwealth buybacks from our state, just like Victoria has already done.”

“The Victorian government won’t allow buybacks and Queensland isn’t expected to give up any water under the Murray Darling Basin Plan,” Helen said.

“So why is all the pain being put on NSW and SA? It’s unfair and the Minns government can protect regional communities by simply saying it won’t allow buybacks from NSW.”

“And let’s not forget the NSW government also has more than 1000 gigalitres of water it controls. Why don’t they offer that to the Commonwealth rather than gutting hard working rural communities?”

The NSW Alternatives to Buybacks Plan, released today, recommends a coordinated effort to deliver existing projects and pro-actively bringing forward new ones that can contribute to Basin Plan targets, and in doing so, limit the volume of water buybacks from NSW communities.

The Plan also calls on the Australian Government to prioritise investment in recovering water through other mechanisms.

NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson believes the plan had been made in the interests of country NSW

“My message is clear: we will not take a backwards step in advocating for the interests of regional and rural NSW, and we will continue to explore and advocate for projects that deliver environmental benefits to the Basin while protecting our communities from large scale water buybacks,” Ms Jackson said.

“Despite the mess we have been left by the previous Government, we don’t want to give up on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

“Our state is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to delivering the Basin Plan, and we will continue to work with the Australian Government to ensure the plan is delivered in a way that minimises impacts on our regional communities.

This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 6 March 2024.