Melbourne, Tuesday 12 May 2026: The Federal Court has today upheld the approval of a controversial Murray River artificial engineering project, in a decision that community members say highlights serious flaws in how governments are managing water recovery across the Basin.
The case was brought by Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park (FNVP), a community group from Swan Hill, represented by Environmental Justice Australia (EJA). The group challenged the federal environmental approval of a large infrastructure project at the Nyah floodplain – part of a suite of “water offset” projects under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Chair of Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park, Nicole McKay, said:
“This decision doesn’t make the project right. Concrete, pipes and pumps are not river restoration and never will be.
“The court ruled on the law, and we respect that. But we know what the river needs – and it’s not more concrete.
“Once the damage is done, there’s no going back. We’ve seen what happens when rivers are engineered like this – blackwater, toxic algae, and mass fish deaths.
“This outcome shows that the law does not match what is actually required to restore the river to ecological health. The law needs fixing. Offset projects let governments claim they’ve restored the river, but they actually damage it. You don’t fix a river by engineering fake floods. We are very concerned about water quality and the risks to Murray Cod and Silver Perch.
“We’ll keep standing up for the river and floodplains because they can’t speak for themselves.”
Environmental Justice Australia senior lawyer Nicola Silbert said:
“Our client remains concerned that a major artificial engineering project in a fragile wetland has been given the green light.
“While the Court has upheld the approval, our client considers this outcome raises important questions about the need for more effective legal protections for our rivers and the communities the depend on them.”
Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park say that while the court’s decision is a setback, it reinforces the urgent need for political leadership to deliver genuine outcomes for rivers and wetlands.
The community group is considering its legal options and is calling for all offset projects to be re-examined. The group is urging governments restore real flows to rivers by removing outdated river constraints, ending reliance on engineered infrastructure, and prioritising natural flows that support the health of floodplains and cultural values.
Case Background:
The Nyah floodplain project is one of several “offset” projects proposed to meet the Murray-Darling Basin Plan targets. The government aims to artificially flood vulnerable wetlands using levees, regulators and pumps - instead of returning sufficient environmental water to rivers and wetlands.
FNVP argued that this approach is not genuine restoration, and that the approval process failed to consider alternatives or fully assess the risks of ecological harm.
The Court has now upheld the project’s approval. While the ruling confirms the approval process met current legal requirements, FNVP says the broader policy approach remains deeply flawed.
This case was the first to test whether water offset projects stand up to legal scrutiny.
The decision has implications for water management across the Murray-Darling Basin. It underscores the urgent need for governments to restore natural flows, remove outdated river constraints, and stop pretending concrete infrastructure is a substitute for ecological recovery.
The court has now upheld the project approval, but the community says this ruling doesn’t fix the flawed offset system of which it is a part.
Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park is a grassroots group that has spent more than 30 years protecting the floodplain forests near Swan Hill, working closely with Wadi Wadi Traditional Owners to care for Country and defend the health of the Murray River.
They were represented in this legal challenge by public interest lawyers at Environmental Justice Australia.
ENDS
Contact: Jessa Latona, 03 8341 3110, [email protected]
