There are warnings of further mass fish deaths in the Murray-Darling River, amid soaring temperatures in western New South Wales.
One million dead fish line a 40-kilometre stretch of the Darling River in Menindee [[men-IN-dee]], in far west New South Wales.
It's been described as an environmental catastrophe and one of the largest fish kills ever recorded in Australia.
The stench of the rotting fish is adding further insult to devastated locals, with the Indigenous community particularly affected.
Now they're being warned of another round of casualties, with the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Niall [[nile]]Blair, saying soaring temperatures this week will see more fish perish.
"We've got a forecast week of 40 degrees-plus right across the state, and that on top of some of our algae alerts means we're potentially bracing for more fish kill events right across New South Wales."
As the situation grows more desperate, politicians are rallying to support the community.
Labor's federal water spokesman, Tony Burke, visited Menindee, where he echoed Labor Leader Bill Shorten's calls for an emergency task for: "An independent taskforce, run by scientists who can look at exactly what's happened, turn around some recommendations quickly on what we need to do to prevent this from occurring again" ha said.
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says he'll convene a meeting of state and federal environment and water stakeholders this week.
He's hoping to convince the states to use $5 million from the Murray Darling Basin funds for a strategy to look after native fish.
State and federal governments all maintain that drought is to blame.
But Professor John Williams, from the Australian National University's Centre for Water Economics, Environment & Policy, says the Basin has been mismanaged. "The drought makes it more difficult and the high temperatures associated with our current changing climate make it more difficult. But that's the very issue a good plan of water management would be able to deal with" the Professor added.
The New South Wales Labor opposition has released a document, obtained through freedom of information laws, that they claim reveals how the state's Coalition government ignored warnings in 2012 that their proposed changes to water usage rules could put fish species in the Darling River at risk.
Labor leader Michael Daley says the recommendations from New South Wales Fisheries were overlooked: "They ignored the advice of their own experts and they went ahead and implemented that water-sharing plan and the results are now there for all the world to see."
But the state goverment rejects the claims, saying the recommendations were implemented that same year.
SBS Italian have talked with Prof. Giovanni M. Turchini, Associate Head of School (Research) of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, to have a better understanding of what is happening.
