THE Federal Government is failing to protect river ecosystems while spending $10 billion to buy water for them, irrigators say.
Environment and Water Minister Tony Burke has refused to list the introduction of fish outside their natural ranges as a "key threatening process" - something which threatens the "survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species".
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Advice from the Federal Department of Environment to Mr Burke had argued the introduction of fish "outside their natural ranges is one of the major conservation issues in inland aquatic environments".
But Mr Burke has told The Weekly Times he intends to list invasive fish as part of a broader classification along with other introduced animals.
National Irrigators' Council chief executive Tom Chesson said invasive species such as European carp did huge damage to river ecosystems.
"They can't say whether irrigators are 90 per cent responsible or 10 per cent responsible (for declines in native fish numbers)," Mr Chesson said.
"Yet we're spending $10 billion on water - it's all about just adding water at the moment."
The proposed draft plan would spend $3.1 billion on voluntary water buy-backs from irrigators as well as $5.8 billion on infrastructure improvements.
Mr Burke has fast-tracked infrastructure spending.
Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said European carp were a "filthy, smelly fish which take away the capacity to breed for (native fish)".
"If Mr Burke thinks they're not a problem, I'd like to see him have a crack at eating them," Senator Joyce said.
Mr Burke said he was advised he could list introduced fish under another key threatening process which "dealt with a range of introduced species" and would do so.
The Murray Darling Basin's Native Fish Strategy has also helped develop several aspects of CSIRO's "Daughterless carp" program and developed a Basin Alien Fish Plan.
