***Bonus UNCUT Interview with Aimee Volkovsky***

We are back!! Welcome to the very first program of water watch for 2024.

This month marks the anniversary of last year's mass fish death in the Baaka-Darling River in Far Western NSW which saw a blackwater event kill 20-30 million fish in the Menindee weir pool. 

Last year we were out on the ground covering the government's response to the disaster which you can listen back to on our podcast feed. At that time, the response (or lack there of) was heavily criticised by the Menindee community, which triggered the incoming NSW labor government to launch an investigation into the fish kills headed up by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.

As we kick into 2024 and a year on from this tragedy, we ask Grazier and water advocate from Menindee, Kate McBride, for an update on where the river is at and whether the current NSW government has been living up to the bar they set themselves as they came into government.

We are also launching a new segment this week that needs your help!

The Creek of the Week will feature local waterways around the country, if you love your local river we want to hear from you! Email us a 60 second recording describing a water place near you. Include your name, your location and the waterway that means something special to you, bonus points if you can get a little story or anecdote in there! 

Record it on the voice app of your phone and email it to waterwatchradio@gmail.com

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of the Summer Series covers the Federal amendment to the Basin Plan known as the Restoring our rivers Bill with statements taken from public hearings to the Senate Inquiry back in September.  

In this episode we hear from:

NSW Irrigators Council, National Irrigators Council, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, The Biodiversity Council, and Wilderness Society SA.

Throughout the program we’ll hear where people agree, such as on constraints and complimentary measure like land management and pest control, which are central to effectively delivering environmental outcomes. AND where they don’t - specifically whether enough water has been recovered to date in order to deliver the intended outcomes of the plan.

This episode was published back in September 2023 and so things may have changed.

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final episode of the summer series, we listen back on a very important topic, often overlooked, or ignored in water policy. First Nations water rights and where they fit within current water policy and what must change if First Nations water rights are to be truly recognised. 

Watch Watch is produced by Broken Hill Community radio 2DRY. 

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

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This week on our Second Bite Summer Series we will be hearing from musician, journalist, filmmaker and activist Aimee Volkovsky from Broken Hill. Aimee is an incredibly accomplished songwriter, and we had the privilege of sitting down with her late last year. The episode you are going to hear today was published back in November so please consider things may have changed since this conversation was recorded. Please enjoy!

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Water Watch's summer series we will be hearing from NSW Deputy Chief Scientist, Darren Saunder and members of the Darling River Action Group about the summary findings of review of the 2023 Menindee Mass Fish Kills.

This episode was first published in September last year before the full report was released and this episode captures the initial reactions of community members from the Darling River Action Group to the summary findings of the report.

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Water Watch's summer series we will be hearing from NSW Water Minister the Honorable Rose Jackson who has set a pretty strong policy agenda in her first year of office.

The week this was published the full report from the Office of the Chief Scientist regarding the disastrous fish kills at Menindee had been released. The episode you are going to hear today was published back in early October so please consider things may have changed since we had this conversation with Rose.

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this second bite we’ll be discussing an issue within water policy which has been a thorny problem for many who follow water politics; accountability, transparency and departmental bias.

This episode was first published in September last year and a lot has changed since then including the full release of the NSW Chief Scientists Independent Review of the 2023 Menindee mass fish kills. When we spoke to Greens MP Cate Faehrmann in September only the executive summary of the report had been released but with Cate’s knowledge in the area of NSW water policy we able to have a robust discussion about finding number 5 from the Chief Scientists report.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has been particularly active in this area chairing the NSW flood plain harvesting inquiry and following closely the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into NSW water policy back in 2020.

We touched on these issues in other episodes on water watch, including with the NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson and Deputy Chief Scientist Darren Saunders, so if you would like to catch up on the full year in water you can find our catalogue by searching water watch radio wherever you get your podcasts or go to waterwatchradio.com

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Water Watch Summer Second Bite Series Continues, this week looking back on the 2023 Mass Fish Kills in Menindee with interviews from locals in the days after the fish kill began. 

Watch Watch is produced by Broken Hill Community radio 2DRY. 

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Water Watch's Summer Series continues with a presentation by Dr Josie Douglas, the General Manager of the Central Land Council speaking at the Fresh Water Futures Panel at the Environment Centre NT State of Environment Conference in September 2023. 

With thanks to the PEW Charitable Trust for accessing conference audio and organising the Fresh Water Futures Panel.

Watch Watch is produced by Broken Hill Community radio 2DRY. 

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2023 Water Watch Summer series continues with a story from a little community 400km north of Alice springs called Ali Curung and a proposal by the NT government to extract 40,000mgL of groundwater annually to produce fruits and vegetables.
This episode was first published in August this year and things may have changed since then.

In this episode we spoke to Maureen Nampijinpa O’Keefe, a Kayditch Walpiri woman from Ali Curung and Alex Vaughan from the Arid Lands Environment Centre in Mparntwe Alice Springs.

Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.