AN announcement by the federal government earlier this month that they have confirmed $80million in funding for three major projects in the Northern Basin, including one for the Macquarie Marshes has met with a mixed reaction.

The Macquarie Marshes Enhanced Watering Project is a $2.69 million project involving works that will include the construction of new weirs and regulator structures on the Macquarie River. 

The funding will be provided to the NSW government to be delivered via contracts and is due for completion by 2024. 

Following a 4-year review ending in 2016, the money was originally earmarked in May 2018 when the Australian Government confirmed its ongoing commitment to the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and agreed to a package of further initiatives to support Basin Plan implementation.

Under their Basin Commitment Package they pledged to work in partnership with the states to deliver more than $13 billion to implement the Murray–Darling Basin Plan.

In his announcement on 2 February 2022, federal Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said, “This is about getting on with delivering the Australian Government’s $180 million Toolkit measures by 2024 in partnership with the NSW and Queensland governments.”

“The projects will contribute towards improving the ecological health of the northern Basin by improving river and wetland management, protecting native fish, and delivering water for the environment. 

“The three Northern Basin Toolkit projects will be delivered by a staged approach to get results on the ground as quickly as possible.”

Prior to funding, the three projects were assessed by an independent expert ecological panel who looked at 27 project proposals provided by Queensland and New South Wales governments.

While most project proposals were focused on providing ecological outcomes for native fish, particularly by enhancing fish passage, only eight projects were judged likely to generate moderate to significant benefits for vegetation and waterbirds.

The panel found some degree of risk, either in relation to possible perverse outcomes or trade-offs, were identified for most projects. 

The Macquarie Marshes project was among the top seven considered to be "very worthwhile with a good likelihood of broad and enduring ecological outcomes and risks that can be well managed." 

A spokesperson for the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Landholders Association (MMELA) and local landholder Garry Hall said that the news was a "frustration" as it amounted to "old announcements getting rehashed" ahead of an election and included projects that should be “routine maintenance” to keep the Marshes healthy.

"Some of these projects have been sitting there for several years," Mr Hall said.

“There are some sites, for example where water is breaking out of channels and draining parts of the Marsh.”

“Because government takes so long to get stuff done it gets very expensive.”

"The biggest benefit the marshes can receive is returning flows to the river," Mr Hall said.

"There are three issues that are on the radar for our association."

"The federal government should be opposing the Gin Gin regulating structure as it stands to provide less water to the Marshes; they could oppose the NSW Government's floodplain harvesting policy; and they could bury for good the concept of ‘over-recovery’ of environmental water."