SYDNEY, Jan 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – As many as a million fish are believed to
have died along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern
Australia, and the authorities warned Monday of more deaths to come.
The banks of the Murray-Darling Rivers are thick with rotten fish, with
officials putting the number of dead at hundreds of thousands and saying the
toll is likely closer to one million.
Further high temperatures forecast for this week could make the situation
worse, the New South Wales government has warned.
Low water conditions and the heat may also have encouraged an algae bloom
that starves the fish of oxygen and produce toxins.
“We do expect to see more fish kills across parts of the far west and
Northern Tablelands this week,” said state minister Niall Blair.
The deaths have become a national issue, sparking angry allegations about
the cause and who is responsible.
“It’s a devastating ecological event,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison
on Monday, pointing to apocalyptic scenes. “The sheer visual image of this is
just terribly upsetting,” he said.
Morrison’s government has blamed the fish deaths on drought, and defended
policies which some locals say has caused the systemic depletion and
pollution of the river system.
“There’s a drought and this is one of the consequences of drought. There
are many, and my focus on drought has not shifted one inch,” Morrison said.
But for years scientists have been warning of people extracting vast
amounts of water without check for irrigation or other uses, undercutting
billions of dollars of investment.
“Dead fish and dying rivers are not because of the drought, it’s because
we are extracting too much water from our river,” said John Williams, an
expert in water economics at the Australian National University.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten called on the government to set up an
“emergency task force” to address the issue.
“You can’t ignore a million dead fish, that’s a shocking development,”
said Shorten.
Morrison insisted the management plan for the Murray-Darling Basin was
bipartisan, adding that his government was only following on the policies of
the opposition Labor government.
“I’m concerned today that some might want to play politics with that,” he
said.
“There were reports done by scientists under Labor’s contribution to that
plan back in 2012 and the plan has been operating in accordance with that
advice.”
Scientists are calling for politicians to be held to account.
“Billions have been spent on upgrading irrigation infrastructure,” said
Quentin Grafton, also of the Australian National University, “but with no
public benefit.”
“It’s a disgrace and it’s time those responsible are held accountable for
this unfolding disaster.”