NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review finds

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Two state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.

This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region, where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week.

River ecologist says ‘classic bureaucratic tangle’ led to government agency stopping flows to Gwydir wetlands region in March

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A leading scientist has criticised an “appalling” New South Wales government agency decision to stop water flowing to wetlands in the state’s north-west, saying it was “absolutely crazy” that researchers had to scramble to save animals buried in drying mud.

Guardian Australia reported on Saturday that turtles, waterbirds, frogs and sheep had died after Water NSW abruptly stopped flows to the Gwydir wetlands region near Moree in March.