Cr Kiri Dicker is bringing a motion to Ballina Council’s meeting this week to do something about one of the key causes of the recent mass fish kills in the Richmond River.
Her motion asks fellow councillors to acknowledge ‘the immense cultural, environmental, social and economic value that Maamang (the Richmond River) provides to the people of the Ballina Shire’, and notes that blackwater runoff from low-lying flood prone land surrounding the Tuckean Swamp was one of the major contributors to recent fish kill events.
Kr Dicker is calling for Council to support the work led by OzFish and other stakeholders in their efforts to restore the Tuckean Swamp, and is requesting a report on options to facilitate and expedite the acquisition of privately owned land surrounding the Tuckean Swamp, under the NSW Coastal Lands Protection Scheme.
Visible reminder
‘For the community, mass fish kills like those which occurred in March 2025 and February 2022 are the most visible reminder of the poor health of the Richmond River,’ she says.
‘It has been known for decades that the artificially enhanced drainage of the Richmond River floodplain (and associated floodgates) is a significant contributor to the water quality issues affecting the lower Richmond River, in particular, blackwater events and acidic discharges containing metal contaminants.’
Cr Dicker says this is supported by recent Rous County Council research, which further said, ‘Recent water quality studies have concluded that the mid to lower river appears to experience general routine hypoxia (low to zero oxygen) with dissolved oxygen and pH levels lower than ANZECC guidelines 100 per cent of the time in some locations.’
Her motion quotes further research which found that: ‘Reducing blackwater runoff into the Richmond River will require the return of low-lying agricultural land (<1m AHD) back to wetlands in the top three sources of blackwater – Tuckean Swamp, Rocky Mouth Creek and Bungawalbin/Sandy Creek.’
Big potential returns
Cr Dicker’s motion continues: ‘This involves an estimated 34 properties currently used for agriculture, with 12 of those used for intensive high value cropping (i.e. sugar cane and tea tree) and the remainder used for grazing.
‘This conversion would impact only 4.5 per cent of the entire floodplain but would prevent an estimated 35 per cent of blackwater from entering the estuary and causing major fish kills,’ she says.
‘Expanding land acquisition and restoration to land <1.5m AHD would include an additional 48 properties, comprising 10.5 per cent of the entire floodplain and preventing an estimated 55 percent of blackwater from entering the estuary.’
Cr Dicker argues that these significant benefits could be won for the environment and community by utilising resources which already exist under the NSW Coastal Lands Protection Scheme, allowing government to acquire land and transfer it to the ownership of NPWS or local councils.
‘However, to date, NPWS has shown no interest in acquiring land under this scheme,’ she said.
Cr Dicker says acquiring land suitable for remediation may be in Ballina Council’s interests as it could enable Council to generate carbon credits (aka Blue Carbon) to offset its own corporate emissions and reduce the amount of carbon credits it must buy by 2030 to reach its target of Net Zero.
‘This opportunity will become clearer as biodiversity markets mature, which is occurring rapidly,’ she said.
Ballina Shire Council’s next meeting will be tomorrow, starting at 9am. It can be attended in person or via livestream from Council’s website.
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Twelve Northern Rivers residents are celebrating the completion of a groundbreaking program designed to build essential skills and unlock employment pathways for women in civil construction. With local government meeting practice across the state returning to confusion following the NSW Legislative Council's recent decision, Ballina Shire Council's last meeting included a lot of unanimous decisions and an argument about the remnants of the Big Scrub, in which Mayor Cadwallader used her casting vote to squash Cr Simon Chate's motion. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved Ballina Shire Council's application to increase its general income through a permanent special variation (SV) of 26.25% [in rates] over four years, from 2026-27 to 2029-30. Byron Greens members could expect to be asked to take the future of the Richmond River further south into account when choosing a candidate for next year’s state election. Local business owners in the Alstonville and Wollongbar townships are being encouraged to take the time to read through Ballina Shire Council’s draft plans, which are currently on exhibition.
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