‘We don’t hear the frogs, we don’t see the birds’: government repeatedly delayed water to NSW wetlands, documents reveal | Wetlands

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‘We don’t hear the frogs, we don’t see the birds’: government repeatedly delayed water to NSW wetlands, documents reveal | Wetlands

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TThe NSW government has regularly delayed environmental flows to critical wetlands in the state’s northwest in favor of agriculture, while admitting this could harm the breeding cycles of endangered frogs and birds and damage local ecosystems.

Two weeks ago, scientists had to rush to save the turtles after WaterNSW abruptly cut off water flow to the internationally important Gwydir area, near Moree, following a complaint from a landowner.

Today, a local rancher released emails revealing that the state Department of Environment and Water delayed the start of flows to parts of the region from spring to early summer in order to prioritize the winter grain harvest.

A concerned bureaucrat wrote to landowners on September 26, saying that “the ideal time to ensure beneficial flow into wetlands is now”, partly due to “warm but mild conditions which, together with water, would trigger a response of wetland vegetation and the reproduction of other species such as frogs”.

A large-shelled turtle that was dug up and rescued from a bog in Gwydir Wetlands. Photograph: provided

“However, due to the 2025 winter grain harvest, the addition of water to the environment will not occur until after harvest,” they wrote.

“Delaying delivery comes at the expense of the environment and environmental water accounts. »

Environmental flows refer to water released by government from dams and tributaries into rivers and ecosystems to restore their health.

The wider Gwydir Wetlands region is home to four Ramsar sites and includes floodplains including Vichy – where the turtles were rescued –, Mallowa and the Lower Gwydir waterways. The region’s wildlife relies on rain and flooding, as well as environmental flows managed by state and federal governments in support of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The emails show that environmental flows to several areas did not begin until November or early December. In one case, that of Lower Gwydir, they started in October, but at a reduced pace.

Subsequent correspondence reveals the NSW Department of Environment and Water has also held back flows in 2024, waiting for dryland farms in floodplains to complete their winter grain harvest. In Mallowa, they did the same in 2023.

Grazier Jonathon Guyer manages wetlands for conservation purposes on the Mallowa River. The property has been in the hands of his family for generations. Earlier this month he explained how WaterNSW’s shutdown of flows had caused endangered birds such as the Australasian bittern to flee wetlands and led to the deaths of fledging waterbirds, frogs and sheep.

Jonathan Guyer's property as it usually appears — Jonathan Guyer’s property as it usually appears

But he said he was even more concerned about “the repeated pattern over several years of Mallowa’s environmental water being delayed, shortened, reduced or timed around winter crop harvest and agricultural activities” by the Department of Environment and Water.

Guyer said he has consistently asked the department to explain what ecological analysis or assessment the decision-making was based on and has not gotten answers.

“The deeper problem is that Mallowa’s environmental water has, for years, been treated as something suitable for agricultural activity rather than a product supplied based on ecological needs,” he told the Guardian.

Guyer said that when wetlands had the water they needed, they were full of plants, birds and insects, and the sound of frogs kept him up at night.

“It’s a good wake-up call because you can understand that the wetlands outside are healthy and happy, and that’s what they’re supposed to be,” he said.

Jonathon Guyer with the remains of a sheep he had to euthanize in March after WaterNSW stopped environmental flows to Gwydir wetlands. Photograph: Jasmin Morrison/The Guardian

“But if there is a winter crop that hasn’t been harvested, then, according to the ministries responsible for our environmental objectives, they let it go and we lose it.

“So we don’t hear the frogs, we don’t see the birds.

“How many more years do we have left before there is nothing left and all the work we have done over the last 50 years over a few generations disappears?”

Correspondence released by Guyer shows the NSW Department of Environment and Water is aware of the ecological consequences of delaying water supplies.

In an Oct. 9, 2025, email to landowners in the Gwydir area, the department wrote that good rains in August and September triggered a “significant environmental response,” including the growth of many wetland plant species.

One official wrote: “frogs are breeding and require surface water to complete this breeding event”, migratory birds were spotted in higher numbers than usual and “other waterbirds were detected during breeding attempts, including a record five threatened Australasian bitterns and two juvenile threatened black-necked storks”.

“If the stream dries significantly, the outcome of the naturally triggered environmental response at the individual, species, and community level will be diminished. A subsequent delivery or flow event will result in the need for many species to restart their seasonal activities, if they are able to do so,” they wrote.

In Sept. 26 emails to landowners, the ministry wrote that the delay in delivering flows also resulted in a higher cost to environmental water accounts because starting flows at the warmest time of year “requires higher volumes to reach the same flooded area compared to colder periods.”

“Observing flows year after year at the same or very similar rate and with similar volumes will result in a decrease in the diversity of plant species and habitats available to support animals,” one official wrote.

A February 24, 2025 email to landowners noted similar concerns during the summer of 2024-25, with the ministry noting that a later start of flows due to crops and a shorter window to deliver water affected the ability to achieve “expected or desired results.”

A Department for Environment and Water spokesperson said flows were managed in consultation with the community and experts through environmental water advisory groups.

“This may mean that on some occasions environmental water flow has been adjusted to account for considerations such as land management activities, including agriculture,” they said.

A report released last week by federal Inspector General of Water Compliance Troy Grant found the NSW government had not secured any of the additional land access it had promised to improve flows of the Gwydir under a Northern Basin Agreement struck eight years ago with the federal government.

Jonathon Guyer manages wetlands for conservation purposes on his property. Photograph: Jasmin Morrison/The Guardian

NSW Greens water spokesperson Cate Faehrmann asked the government about the circumstances that led to the cessation of flows in March.

She said the latest revelations about environmental flow delays raised questions and called on the government to “assure the public that it understands its obligations under multiple water-related laws and treaties to prioritize the environment and protect important ecological assets like the Ramsar-listed Gwydir Wetlands”.

“I was furious when I saw the impact that the delay in environmental water supplies was having on wetlands and the thousands of waterbirds and other animals that depend on healthy wetland ecosystems to survive,” she said.

“The fact that this was a deliberate decision by the NSW government agency responsible for water management raises serious questions about the extent of influence irrigators still have over the government of the day. »

The ministry spokesperson said “the operational practices established to provide environmental water flows are a separate issue from what is currently happening in the Gwydir Valley”.

Do you know more? Email lisa.cox@theguardian.com