Healthy Rivers Dubbo, a strong local voice for the rivers and communities of inland NSW, has expressed concern at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) recent public statements that deny the clear scientific need to recover more water for the rivers and wetlands of the Basin.

The group alleges that documents provided to the public for consultations in Sydney last month contradict strong scientific evidence and community experience, with claims including “In many cases, having enough environmental water is no longer the main challenge”.

Healthy Rivers Dubbo says this statement reflects "outrageous comments in the media" allegedly made by MDBA CEO Mr Andrew McConville in August that it was time “to move beyond water recovery”.

The Authority’s own Murray-Darling Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper reportedly confirms what Traditional Owners, communities and scientists have raised, Healthy Rivers Dubbo said, about the Darling/Baaka River and the Lower Murray being "in ecological crisis due to upstream over-extraction. More water must be recovered in the next ten years or the Lower Murray and the Darling/Baaka rivers will collapse," the organisation said in a statement issued on September 21.

Melissa Gray, Convenor of Healthy Rivers Dubbo, said the situation in NSW is one of crisis.

“The Coorong has just been listed as critically endangered under federal law," Ms Gray said.

"There is a fifty per cent chance the iconic wetland will be extinct within ten short years. Any suggestion that no further water recovery is required in the next ten years shifts those odds closer to one hundred per cent.

“We are in a crisis in NSW. Rivers in the NSW Darling/Baaka Basin are still being pumped until they stop flowing. Rules meant to manage how much water is diverted from floodplains are so inadequate they cannot be relied on to stop water theft.

Ms Gray described the MDBA CEO's comments as "incredulous."

“For the boss of the Authority to be saying we’ve moved beyond water recovery is incredulous. It is not his call,“ she said.

“There are specific things that the law says the Basin Plan and Water Act reviews must address: Wetland health for migratory bird habitat; the ecological health of the rivers is secure before water is pumped; the rights of Indigenous people; how climate change impacts are managed; and improving data transparency and water accounting."

Ms Gray accused the MDBA of wasting the community's valuable time.

“Most of the materials provided by the Authority for discussion at the two-day consultation are on matters that are outside of the Authority's scope," she said.

“The need for data transparency and improved water accounting is paramount, yet the Authority is not even bothering to discuss the subject at a two-day consultation in Sydney.”