Labor's decision to refuse to support legislation allowing the raising of Warragamba Dam's wall has been condemned by Hawkesbury MP Dominic Perrottet.
Labor and the Greens opposed the Water NSW Amendment (Warragamba Dam) Bill 2018 introduced into the NSW Parliament last week, which would wind back protections in the National Parks and Wildlife Act that prevents flood inundation of national parks in the southern Blue Mountains wilderness.
Mr Perrottet said Labor members had put “their own political self-interest ahead of the Hawkesbury community” with the decision.
“Labor has made it clear they care more about green votes in the inner-city than the lives and property of the people living in western Sydney,” Mr Perrottet said in a statement.
“Labor’s refusal to back the project is irresponsible, reckless and would endanger the lives of the people of Hawkesbury all so they can secure the votes of greenies who are happy to oppose this project while remaining safe from the threat of a deadly flood.”
Mr Perrottet said Labor candidate for Hawkesbury, Cr Peter Reynolds, and Macquarie MP Susan Templeman had chosen to “bury their heads in the sand rather than stand up for the people of the Hawkesbury”.
“I have called on Ms Templeman in the past to do the right thing and back this vital project to no avail. It is now up to Cr Reynolds to show that he cares about the people of Hawkesbury and stand up to Labor’s blatant vote grabbing,” he said.
However, Ms Templeman responded by saying if Mr Perrottet was worried about lives “he would have advocated for a bypass of Windsor as a way of creating a flood-resilient evacuation route for the community, rather than the ridiculous single extra lane he’s supported”.
“I don’t think anyone should take any notice of Mr Perrottet, given he has so gladly walked away from his electorate. He has never had the best interests of the Hawkesbury as his priority,” she said in a statement.
“Instead, he is now focused on a dam wall-raising proposal that ignores the reality all locals are aware of: several river catchments contribute to flood levels across the Hawkesbury, including, the Grose, Colo, Nepean, South Creek and Macdonald.
“The contribution of Warragamba Dam catchment to flooding at Windsor ranges from 72 per cent to only 42 per cent of all floodwaters. The Grose River in particular drains a high rainfall from the Blue Mountains and can have a significant effect on flooding at Windsor, and the river level rises at North Richmond before floodwater even arrives via the Nepean River or Warragamba Dam.
“So Mr Perrottet is reckless, simplistic and ill-informed to look to a single quick fix just so more houses can go on floodplains. He should grow up and encourage a more informed debate and a more sophisticated response based on science and the NSW Government’s own 2017 Hawkesbury–Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy
“Labor did this in the 1990s with significant improvements to the safety of Warragamba Dam and a similar approach to reducing the impact of flooding in the Hawkesbury should be a priority.”
Cr Reynolds said the only person with his head in the sand “is Dominic Perrottet”.
“He has never seen a flood. He doesn't know what it's like to lose friends in floods or to help people evacuate but he will insult those of us who do,” he stated.
“Mr Perrottet and his government are risking the lives of the community by failing to provide adequate evacuation routes. His own agencies say evacuation is the only way to guarantee lives will be saved, raising the dam wall will not.
“This is the Windsor Bridge debacle all over again. No project approval, no EIS, no response to submissions, no independent review by the department and yet Mr Perrottet is perverting the process and carrying on as if everything has been ticked off.”
“If he won't let his planning process proceed as it should then he has something to hide, or he has ulterior motives. Once again he and his Government are trying avoid independent scrutiny and accountability to the community. No wonder he's running away.”
But Maurie Smith from Hawkesbury Nepean Flood Mitigation Action Committee urged local residents to write to local representatives to support the raising of the wall
“This is not an attack on National Parks Act or World Heritage,” he stated.
“The Hawkesbury Nepean Flood Mitigation Action Committee (HNFMAC) would urge [residents] to contact your local federal, state and local councillors from all sides of politics to support this important legislative change in the way Warragamba Dam can be managed to protect us all.”
Comment was being sought from Cr Reynolds.
