Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024C00760:reg:24:p25
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024C00760
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 24 (pt 25/36)
Character Range: 374388–377243

assessment of river condition indicated that the ecological health of Basin rivers was poorer than that required for ecological sustainability.
    19. In its Assessment of the ecological and economic benefits of environmental water in the Murray‑Darling Basin (2012), CSIRO found that the ecological condition across the regions of the Basin is predominantly poor, with the trend being one of decline. It noted this was consistent with the NSW State of the Catchments Reports (NSWOEH 2010) and the Sustainable Rivers Audit (2004‑07) (Davies et al. 2008). The Sustainable Rivers Audit provides a comprehensive assessment of the ecosystem health of 23 river valleys in the Murray‑Darling Basin. On the basis of the first assessment (2004–07), the Paroo valley in the north‑west of the Basin was the only region to achieve a health rating of 'good'. The Condamine and Border Rivers valleys were rated as being in 'moderate health', and all others were rated 'poor' or 'very poor', with the lowest ranked being the Murrumbidgee and Goulburn valleys (Davies et al. 2008).
    20. In the past 50 years, populations of native fish species in the Basin have suffered serious declines in distribution and abundance. These declines reflect the poor state of the river system and the impacts of human use. Up to half of the Basin's native fish species are considered to be either threatened or of conservation significance. It is estimated that the fish communities in the Basin are at about 10% of their levels before European settlement. Twenty‑six of the 46 native species in the Basin are recognised as either rare or threatened on state, territory or national listings. Eleven alien species comprise 80–90% of fish biomass at many sites in several rivers (Lintermans 2007).
    21. Many species of waterbirds breed in large numbers only during flooding of wetlands and lakes. The large wetlands on the lower reaches of the Condamine‑Balonne, the Gwydir, the Macquarie, the Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee rivers are among the most important sites of their type in Australia for such breeding events (Kingsford, Curtin & Porter 1999; Kingsford & Auld 2005). However, assessments indicate that about 90% of the Gwydir Wetlands, 75% of the wetlands of the Lower Murrumbidgee floodplain, and 40–50% of the Macquarie Marshes have been lost since European settlement (Keyte 1994; Kingsford & Thomas 1995, 2004). The breeding of colonially nesting waterbirds in the Barmah‑Millewa Forest on the Murray (Leslie 2001), the number of waterbirds and waterbird nests, and the frequency of waterbird breeding in the Macquarie Marshes have been reduced relative to without‑development conditions (Kingsford & Thomas 1995; Kingsford & Johnson 1998).
    22. Through the widespread drought conditions over the decade to 2010 the average annual stream flow at the Murray Mouth was