Environment and Acting Water Minister Penny Sharpe confirmed the incoming New South Wales Labor government’s commitment to an independent assessment of catastrophic fish deaths and water management in the state on the banks of the Darling River near Menindee.

Ms Sharpe joined Premier Chris Minns and MP Rose Jackson today at the location where tens of millions of native fish died from suffocation less than two weeks ago.

Mr Minns stated that it was critical to investigate how the crisis, which was caused by a lack of oxygen in the water, had affected communities and to ensure that they received timely assistance.

“We know that catastrophes like these may be terrible… especially given the roller-coaster ride over the last four years, from extreme drought to an abundance of water,” he said.

“This is the second major fish kill or ecological event that we’ve seen in the last five years.”

“Our duty today is to listen and learn, comprehend the impact on the local community, respect what the emergency response has been, and also to ensure that this incoming government implements government action and policy reforms so that tragedies like this do not become a common occurrence.”

Ms Sharpe, who is in charge of the water portfolio until it is officially assigned, expressed her condolences to the Menindee community and pledged her support.

“The problem for us is to figure out how to prevent this in the future and how to cope with it today. “She said. “I believe that understanding and learning from this experience are critical, as is the community’s awareness that we will listen to the scientists and professionals, but we will also listen to them.

“There’s a lot of local knowledge here.”

An independent investigation is under place. Ms Sharpe also stated that the new government has listened to locals’ calls for an impartial probe into the fish fatalities.

“We vowed during the campaign to looking at an independent review; we’ll look at who needs to do that and where, but we’ll most likely look at the top scientist,” she said.

“We need to understand what happened, but I’m also concerned in ensuring that local knowledge is brought into that process.” Mr Minns agreed that the new administration should consider water management in regional NSW.

Nevertheless, regardless of the outcome of any probe, he said he was more concerned with getting future policies right than holding people accountable for earlier actions.

“We want to see this community expand and thrive in terms of tourism and agriculture,” Mr Minns added. “We know it’s a world wonder in many aspects.

“But we need to make sure that we protect its waterways, particularly when there’s an abundance of water.”

“If there were policy mistakes, we need to avoid them in the future because we don’t want to see recurring disasters like this, repeated fish kills that harm the environment of the local community while also having a major impact on the local economy.”