Treasurer backs Warragamba Dam flood mitigation wall plan
New South Wales Treasurer Matt Kean has backed the premier's plan for a Warragamba Dam flood mitigation wall.
The plan to raise the wall of the dam in Sydney's south-west was declared "critical" by Premier Dominic Perrottet yesterday in the wake of multiple devastating floods in recent years and this week's flood warnings.
The former environment minister said the government would put "people before plants", after previously saying the economics of the dam would make the project "unviable".
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Kean is asking the Commonwealth to go halves in the $1.6 billion project.
"We've got to look at more than just the business case and the cost benefit analysis," Kean said.
Labor is opposing the plan by proposing to store less water in Warragamba Dam and rely more heavily on the desalination plant.
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"Only now, after a decade in power, are they saying it's an absolute priority to lift Warragamba Dam wall," NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said.
The government said a comprehensive assessment would be undertaken in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.
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