Nature Conservation Council
03 September 2026
Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC), the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, has commended the Minns Labor Government for committing to improving waterway health by appointing a Richmond River Coordinator and investing in the rehabilitation of Tuckean Swamp.
The NCC wants to see a coordinator with genuine power and legislative backing to ensure they can enforce a mandate of environmental, cultural and community wellbeing.
Quotes attributed to NCC Coastal Wetlands Community Organiser, Sam Johnson:
“Fish kills have become a regular occurrence along the Richmond River due to the pollution flowing from drained wetlands.
“The most notorious of these drained wetlands is Tuckean Swamp, where water pH levels are comparable to lemon juice. It is the single largest contributor to poor water quality in the catchment.”
Johnson says the NSW Government’s commitment to invest in restoring the Tuckean Swamp is a major win for locals who have advocated for this action for many years, as well as NCC which has been calling for the wetland to be restored since 2023.
“Restoring Tuckean Swamp will improve water quality, and as a result improve community and environmental wellbeing.”
Johnson says if done correctly, a central catchment coordinator could help to oversee the urgent improvements to water quality needed for the river to come back to life.
“One of the biggest barriers to action in the Richmond River, and other coastal rivers around the state, is fragmented governance. Government departments are unsure who is responsible for what, rules are enforced by multiple agencies who don’t speak to each other, and nothing gets done.
“This announcement for the Richmond River is a huge step forward in trialling a model that could be applied statewide. However, this coordinating body must have genuine power and legislative backing to ensure it has primacy and can enforce a mandate of environmental, cultural and community wellbeing.
“The Richmond cannot afford an ineffective, powerless advisory body – it needs to be cared for by a coordinator with a strong mandate, clear responsibilities and enforcement powers.
“This is the first river coordinator in the state and needs to be implemented with intention if it is to be effective and act as a model for other river systems in NSW.
“If done right, this will open new opportunities for the river and the communities that live alongside it, which were previously out of reach.
“Improving water quality could see people swim in the Richmond River once again without fearing for their health.”
Background:
- The Richmond River in northern NSW flows through major towns like Ballina and Casino and is consistently measured to have some of the poorest water quality in the state.
- In 2025, hundreds of thousands of dead fish washed up dead on the banks of the Richmond due to poor water quality.
- In May 2026, 130+ community members at NCC’s Sydney Rivers Community Forum voted on river governance as the biggest issue facing rivers in Sydney. This is a widely felt problem that is leading to the decline of our coastal rivers around the state, from urban to rural areas.
- The oyster and fishing industries in the area have been decimated over many decades by poor water quality in the Richmond River. Improving water quality will help restore jobs that were lost to pollution and support local livelihoods.
- Drained wetlands produce acidic and de-oxygenated ‘blackwater’ that runs into rivers after periods of rainfall that can cause mass fish kills and destruction of seafood species such as oysters.
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