Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 2375

❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice addresses mass sawfish deaths on Liveringa station, owned by Gina Rinehart, querying water management practices and potential links to the deaths. The Minister provides detailed responses, including water extraction data and ongoing reviews.

AnsweredQoN 2375Legislative Council

Asked

13 August 2019

Member

Hon Robin Chapple

Portfolio

Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the mass deaths of the critically endangered sawfish on Liveringa pastoral lease owned by Gina Rinehart, and I ask: (a) on what day precisely was the Government notified of the situation and what form did the communication take; (b) which department is responsible for species such as the critically endangered sawfish; (c) has Liveringa pastoral lease been providing monthly pump readings as per the conditions on their water licence; (d) if no to (c), why not; (e) what is the combined amount of water Liveringa are licensed to take annually from its two pumps in Snake Creek: (i) are both of these pumps metered; (ii) if no to (i), why not; (iii) will the Minister table the monthly water extraction volumes for the past year; and (iv) if no to (iii), why not; (f) will the Minister table the Annual Report for 2018 on Snake Creek; (g) if no to (f), why not; (h) how much water was taken from Snake Creek in the 2018-19 wet season; (i) when did the previous events of multiple sawfish death, reported by Dr Dave Morgan of Murdoch University, take place: (i) were any reports drafted regarding these deaths; (ii) if yes to (i), will the Minister table the information; (iii) what are the dates and duration of these events; (iv) how many sawfish died during each incident; (v) did the Government or any relevant authority investigate these deaths; and (vi) if no to (v), why not; (j) given the recent sawfish deaths happened in pools that were cut off from Snake Creek, do the floodgates installed on Snake Creek decrease the flow or volume of the water downstream, to these pools; (k) if no to (j), why not; (l) does the pumping from Snake Creek reduce water levels in the pools the sawfish were found in; (m) if no to (l), will the Minister explain how this is the case when the pools are clearly linked by surface water; (n) will the Minister ensure that a management plan is enacted to make sure that sawfish deaths do not occur on Liveringa in the future; (o) if no to (n), why not; (p) can the Government be confident that the water infrastructure and/or pumping from Snake Creek did not contribute to the sawfish deaths; (q) if yes to (p), could the Minister provide evidence that the infrastructure and/or pumping does not contribute to the events of mass sawfish death; and (r) if no to (p), how will the management plan reflect this and what steps will be taken to ensure sawfish protection?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

17 September 2019

Responded by

Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science

Response time

9 days

(a) On 10 December 2018, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development received a phone call reporting the issue.
(b) The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions is responsible for the protection of all native flora and fauna in Western Australia. The response to freshwater fish deaths is jointly managed between the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development.
(c) Yes
(d) Not applicable
(e) The annual entitlement is 6 gigalitres though the actual volume able to be abstracted each year is managed through licence conditions. The average annual abstraction over the last three years is 1.613GL.
(i) Yes
(ii) Not applicable
(iii) Yes. See table below of monthly water extraction volumes for the last water year (2018)
January 2018
Nil
February 2018
Nil
March 2018
Nil
April 2018
112,713 kilolitres
May 2018
148,420 kilolitres
June 2018
267,333 kilolitres
July 2018
249,952 kilolitres
August 2018
267,037 kilolitres
September 2018
463,565 kilolitres
October 2018
433,675 kilolitres
November 2018
Nil
December 2018
Nil
(iv) Not applicable
(f) Yes (commercially sensitive information has been redacted)
[See tabled paper no.]
(g) Not applicable
(h) 565,810 kilolitres (all in March–April 2019). Wet season for West Kimberley is determined as November to April.
(i) The report appears to reference communication between the author and Liveringa staff. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is unaware of specific sawfish death incidents at these pools in the past.
(i) No
(ii) Not applicable
(iii) Not applicable
(iv) Not applicable
(v) Not applicable
(vi) Not applicable
(j) No
(k) The pools where the sawfish died were upstream of the floodgates installed on Snake Creek.
(l) No
(m) Current information indicates that the pools are not linked in the dry season when irrigation occurs. However, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is undertaking a detailed assessment of the surface water linkages between these sites as part of its triennial review of ecological monitoring data under the current water licence. This work will be peer reviewed by suitably qualified experts and will confirm whether or not there is any linkage between the sites.
(n) A management plan has not been required in association with the water licence.
(o) The Department may amend the operational arrangements for the licence depending on the outcome of the review.
(p) See response to (m).
(q) See response to (m).
(r) The review will determine if further actions are required.

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