Wednesday, 1 November 2023
NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson has confirmed the NSW Labor Government is all talk and no action when it comes to providing support for rural and regional communities already suffering from the impact of drought across the state.
NSW Shadow Water Minister, Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke, says she was alarmed by the Minister’s response to Budget Estimates questions, around what the government is actively doing to help those already suffering from dry conditions.
“By her own admission, as the Water Minister she has a ‘significant’ role to play in the government’s response to this looming crisis, and yet the best she could come up with when asked what the plan going forward is, was that agency meetings have kicked off, and the public service has been briefed,” Ms Cooke said.
“It appears Labor’s approach to this emerging crisis is drought preparation by committee.
“Just over 50 per cent of the state is now either drought-declared or drought-affected, and yet the Minister is still sitting around talking about it.
“Where’s the targeted support; where are the rural support workers, and financial counselling services? What about rural resilience programs, and skills and training subsidies?
“We’ve known these dry conditions have been coming for months now; the government should have had a plan in place a long time ago.
“While we were in government, the Coalition announced around $2 billion worth of drought support in the form of highly successful programs like the Farm Innovation Fund – a vital program to help regional communities survive difficult times like drought.
“Not only does the government not seem to have a drought preparation and support plan in place for our rural and regional communities, the Minister admitted that the government has all but abandoned the vital Safe and Secure Water Program, which was set up by the previous Coalition Government to support critical water infrastructure in towns and villages in rural and regional areas, to help safeguard against critical water shortages in dry periods like this.
“At a time when the risk to water supply and security is becoming more acute by the day, the Minister’s cavalier approach to this program is deeply concerning.
“The Coalition invested an initial $1 billion in this program when it started in 2017, before topping it up with an extra $90 million in recognition of its importance in helping create sustainable, secure, and healthy water resources.
“Unlike the current government, the previous NSW Coalition Government stood in solidarity with our farmers and rural and regional communities; we knew what needed to be done.
“Communities want some reassurance that the government understands the severity of what they’re facing, and has measures in place to help offset the potential devastation, and get them through what may be a very tough time.
“If rural and regional communities were looking for assurances from the Minister that the government has the situation under control, they didn’t find it in her answers today,” she said.
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