Senator The Hon Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water
The Hon Tara Moriarty MLC, NSW Minister for Agriculture, Regional New South Wales and Western New South Wales
The Hon Rose Jackson MLC, NSW Minister for Water
An important milestone has been reached towards restoring fish passage in the Menindee lakes and Lower Darling-Baaka River, with the lead design consultant contract awarded to 3Rivers.
3Rivers (a joint venture between Jacobs and GHD) will lead the Menindee and Lower Darling-Baaka Fish Passage Business Case a part of the permanent works, they will provide technical expertise to design and cost solutions to restore fish passage.
The NSW Government and Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) are collaborating on the project to allow native fish like Golden Perch and Murray Cod to migrate freely to feed, breed and access new habitat. This vital work will support native fish recovery and ecological resilience, and provide long-term, system-wide improvements to river health.
With a combined investment of $16 million to investigate fish passage solutions in the region, the Australian Government, MDBA and NSW Government are taking the first decisive steps to address the long-standing challenges in connectivity and ecological restoration in this part of the Basin.
This includes:
Combined Commonwealth funding of $3.56 million for MDBA to prepare a business case to address permanent fish passage at the Lake Wetherell outlet regulator.
NSW Government's funding of $12.5 million to complete both a detailed holistic business case for fish passage solutions across the Menindee Lakes and Lower Darling-Baaka River and the Fishheart temporary passage.
The business case development includes: initial investigations, stakeholder consultation with the local community including Barkandji Traditional Owners and other First Nations groups, concept designs, environmental assessments, and cost-benefit analysis.
With a focus on critical regulator and weir sites in the Menindee and Lower Darling-Baaka, between Lake Wetherell and Pooncarie Weir. If implemented, this would lead to the restoration of 518 kilometres of connectivity between the northern and southern Murray-Darling Basin.
While work is ongoing, the New South Wales Government has funded a 3-year trial of a temporary fish passage technology called Fishheart, at the Lake Wetherell outlet regulator to help manage the risk of native fish getting stuck in the Menindee town weir pool.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt said:
"Today's announcement is a positive step towards mitigating future mass fish deaths and giving our native fish a better chance of survival. It's an important piece of work that will ensure the necessary information is available to Basin governments to make an informed investment decision.
"This project is focused on long-term, permanent solutions, not just band-aid fixes. It will support native fish recovery, river connectivity and healthier river systems for the environment and communities."
Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales Tara Moriarty said:
"This is a key component of the Minns Labor Government's priority $25 million Restoring the Darling-Baaka Program after the 2023 mass fish kill at Menindee.
"Already, Fishheart is using innovative science, data and infrastructure to reduce the short-term risk of fish kills, however, this permanent fix will have a long-term impact for restoring our native fish.
"Our regional communities depend on us to get this right so that hopefully, in the future, our native fish can migrate the entire length of the Basin."
NSW Minister for Water, Rose Jackson said:
"This is another important step in the Restoring the Darling-Baaka Program. We've made good progress implementing the recommendations of the NSW Chief Scientist with expanded water quality monitoring, improved response triggers and additional resources.
"But we know enduring fish passage and river health is the ultimate aim and we're getting on with that job."
MDBA's Chief Executive Andrew McConville said:
"We're delighted to have 3Rivers on board to provide their valuable technical expertise to this vital project and we look forward to working closely with them.
"Community collaboration will be a critical part of 3Rivers developing the right designs to enable fish passage through the Lakes and the Baaka, and to ensure the business case is thorough and clear.
"The Barkandji people, the Traditional Owners, along with other First Nations groups and communities will play a key role in shaping the design and cost-benefit analysis, to ensure local and cultural knowledge is incorporated into the final recommendations."
