LABOR FAILS TO PROTECT WATER IN THE REGIONS

The NSW Labor Government has shown it has little regard for the interests of regional NSW after failing to protect regional water assets by passing legislation that enshrines Sydney Water Corporation and Hunter Water Corporation in the NSW Constitution exclusively.

“The Constitution Amendment (Sydney Water and Hunter Water) Bill 2023 ignores one third of our state’s population and does nothing to ensure regional water assets are afforded the same level of protection as those in Sydney,” Mr Williamson said.

“If Labor’s objective for the Bill is to protect water assets from privatisation, then this Bill falls severely short and divides the state based on postcode.”

Mr Williamson contributed to the debate on the Bill yesterday in the NSW Legislative Assembly which followed on from a passionate Private Members Statement he made last week on the proposed legislation.

“We in the bush should have the same protections as our city cousins,” Mr Williamson told the State Parliament.

“We are not second-rate citizens in regional NSW. Water is an essential commodity. It is a human right. If it is good enough to be protected in the State’s Constitution in Sydney, it is good enough in the bush.

“It is not a two-tiered system in NSW. It should not be. So why not offer the same protections to the people of the bush?”

Mr Williamson went on to say that we should be protecting the assets as well such as the dams and pipes, not just the retail arm.

“It is pretty hard to have a water supply scheme without the dams and the pipes. In fact, it is probably impossible so let’s protect the lot. Let’s not do this in halves,” he said.

“Water security in this great state should be enshrined in the NSW Constitution, but not just for Sydney.”

NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said changing the constitution to recognise Sydney water and Hunter water utilities and not regional water assets is blatantly unfair.

“Whatever the intent of this legislation started as it has finished by dividing our state based on what post code we live in,” Mr Saunders said.

“People in regional NSW deserve to know that no matter where they live they will be treated equally by this government – unfortunately that is not the case.

“The NSW Nationals will bring a new Bill into Parliament as soon as possible to level the playing field and protect our regional water utilities,” he said.

Shadow Minister for Water Steph Cooke said the Bill falls desperately short in protecting water assets outside of Sydney Water and Hunter Water.

“This Bill discriminates against the 1.85 million people who obtain their water from water utilities other than Sydney Water and Hunter Water,” Ms Cooke said.

“By focusing on Greater Sydney, the Lower Hunter, Illawarra and Blue Mountains and failing to acknowledge the rest of the state, this Bill raises serious questions about the future security of WaterNSW and all the local water utilities across regional, rural and remote NSW.”

“If Labor was truly serious about protecting end-to-end water supply in New South Wales, it would have supported our proposed amendments and not excluded one third of our State’s population, simply because of the location of their water meter.”

** A full copy of Mr Williamson’s contribution to the debate can be found here -https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-131325/link/2292.