20 September 2023
No foresight and no idea. Those few words sum up what many believe was a disastrous decision by the NSW Labor Government to scrap plans to raise the Wyangala Dam wall.
Not only was the decision not to proceed with this project short-sighted, the Premier and his Water Minister have been far from upfront about the details they say back up their call.
No one can deny the project to raise the dam wall is one of the biggest and most complex water infrastructure projects in the state; raising the existing wall by 10m and increasing its storage capacity by 53 percent, or an additional 650GL - think Sydney Harbour then then some.
The project represents an investment in communities along the Lachlan River, from Cowra through to Forbes and beyond, who so desperately need increased protection when it floods. It is also an investment in water security for the broader Central West region during times of drought, the threat of which is once again all too real.
It is a big task, yes, but it is the realisation of a long-term, forward-thinking vision that the previous NSW Coalition Government was committed to fulfilling.
Now the Labor Premier and his Water Minister say it is too costly; that the financial and environmental price tag is too great. But I say to them, the cost of doing nothing is far greater; what price do you put on protecting the lives and livelihoods of those that live downstream of the dam and throughout the Central West?
What we need right now is the state is some real leadership; someone who is capable of making big picture decisions about significant infrastructure investments, that will future-proof our communities for generations to come.
Instead, we're stuck with a State Government led by a Premier who can't seem to see beyond the Blue Mountains and who is, instead, far more interested in securing votes in Western Sydney than looking after the best interests of people in Western NSW.
Believe it or not, the Premier conceded during the election campaign that he did not 'pretend to have any expertise about regional NSW".
Sadley for those who live in regional areas, that appears to be very true.
So far, key details about the supposed cost blow out of raising the wall have been hidden in the redacted business case. Nor do we have sufficient details around the seemingly arbitrary $1 billion figure that say is required for biodiversity offsets, so clearly the Government has more questions to answer before they simply just walk away from the project.
The Labor Party in NSW are either dangerously ignorant of the challenges facing the communities impacted by this decision, or they don't care; either way, it's clear they're not interested in finding solutions to the long-term problems this project was seeking to address. Their political priorities seem to lie elsewhere.
Published - The Daily Telegraph - Pg 19 - OPINION - Wednesday 20 September 2023
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