Minister for Water Rose Jackson has confirmed NSW is facing a multi-billion-dollar shortfall in critical water infrastructure, and that the Minns Labor Government has allocated no new funding to capital projects in communities at risk of water insecurity.
Scrutiny during Budget Estimates centred on the Safe and Secure Water Program and the scale of infrastructure needs across regional NSW, as the state prepares for a hot and dry summer.
During questioning, Minister Jackson confirmed no additional funding had been added to the Safe and Secure Water Program since the Minns Labor Government was elected in March 2023.
The Minister also acknowledged the backlog of water and wastewater infrastructure projects, for which local water utilities have sought funding to resolve across NSW, was in the billions of dollars.
“I’m accepting that it’s billions,” Ms Jackson said.
“I need to have a level of confidence that if we give them [local water utilities] millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars in some circumstances for big projects, that it’s going to be a good investment of taxpayer money.”
Shadow Minister for Water Steph Cooke said the Safe and Secure Water Program was established in 2018 by the former Nationals Government to support local water utilities, ensuring regional and rural communities have access to safe, reliable drinking water and sewerage services.
“What we heard today is that the system is effectively broken,” Ms Cooke said.
“Local water utilities cannot afford the infrastructure, the state government is stepping away from its responsibility, and regional communities are being left to pay the price.
“Our communities will pay for this crisis one way or another if something doesn’t urgently change. They’ll either pay through higher water bills or through poorer health outcomes, and neither option is acceptable.”
In response to questions, Minister Jackson admitted she has not, at any time over the past four years, asked her department to model the extent of the state’s infrastructure shortfall, despite warnings from the Auditor-General, Local Government NSW, and the NSW Water Directorate about a multi-billion-dollar backlog of unfunded projects.
Ms Cooke added the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s 2024 review found that almost 590,000 people in regional and remote communities are at potential increased risk of exposure to waterborne pathogens.
“If that’s not a red flag for the government to invest in water and sewerage infrastructure, I don’t know what is,” Ms Cooke said.
Providing evidence, Deputy Secretary of Water Group within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Amanda Jones, agreed that without capital infrastructure investment, regional and rural communities will face serious water insecurity.
“As the Minister recognised this morning, there is a significant funding gap in terms of what regional towns need for support,” Ms Jones said.
“It’s fair to say that capital demand will affect services eventually.”
Ms Cooke said the department’s advice raises serious concerns about the Minns Labor Government’s prioritisation of water security.
“Across regional NSW, water and sewerage systems are operating at or above capacity,” Ms Cooke said.
“Something must give. Regional communities cannot continue to shoulder the burden of crumbling water infrastructure while governments refuse to step up and act.”
