Government MPs,including the current Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke,boasted about the move,saying it would fast-track the project and result in “getting shovels in the ground sooner”.
However,the government confirmed to the Herald on Tuesday that the critical state significant status had expired last year,before a business case or environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project had even been completed.
The NSW government was advised earlier this year by Infrastructure NSW to reconsider the timing of the Wyangala Dam and several other major projects across the state due to an overheated construction market.
Perrottet suggested on Tuesday that major work may need to wait until another dry spell hit the Central West,but said the government would not be deterred from proceeding even if the looming business case analysis suggested the cost outweighed its benefits.
“You can’t put a benefit-cost ratio on a human life,simple as that,” Perrottet said.
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“What’s more important is the protection of human life and property,and that’s what I’m focused on.
“Drought will come again and that’s obviously when you do get the opportunity to raise that wall.”
Opposition water spokeswoman Rose Jackson said the government had done nothing to take advantage of the temporary critical state significant infrastructure status before it expired last year.
“After two years and having made no progress,this designation lapsed. We have seen no detailed business case or EIS despite this project having been announced many years ago,” she said.
“Now the government is desperately trying to appear as though this is a priority for them but the reality clearly shows otherwise.”
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson insisted the dam would be raised.
“Only the NSW Liberals and Nationals in government are committed to building significant water infrastructure across NSW to increase water supply and mitigate risks from natural disasters such as floods – this includes the Wyangala Dam Wall-raising project,” he said.
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and former prime minister Scott Morrison announced $650 million in joint funding to raise Wyangala Dam in October 2019. However,the government has confirmed that the price tag was based on an estimate made in 2017.
The government has since forecast that raising the dam wall would cost between $1.2 billion to $2.1 billion.
The former Morrison government committed $325 million for the project in the March 2022 budget but the Albanese government revealed in the October federal budget that it had shelved its offer of cash until the business case was completed.
Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek recently said dam proposals backed by the former Morrison government,such as Wyangala,need “careful examination” before federal funds are committed.
Perrottet has also insisted the government will raise Warragamba Dam wall by 14 metres to address flooding in Sydney’s south-west,declaring the state would put “people before plants”.
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