‘Careful examination’: Plibersek questions former government’s dam projects

The planned $1.3-billion upgrade of the Dungowan Dam in Barnaby Joyce’s NSW seat of New England as well as other dam proposals backed by the former federal government need “careful examination”, Water Minister Tanya Plibersek says.

The NSW and Morrison governments confirmed they would split the cost of expanding Dungowan Dam near Tamworth in the lead-up to the May federal election, saying the town’s primary water storage, Chaffey Dam, was insufficient to meet its needs during drought and as its population grew.

Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek says she will be taking a “very careful look” at all federally funded dam proposals.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But Plibersek said on Tuesday that during the 2019 drought, Tamworth “wasn’t given enough water” from Chaffey Dam, despite its expansion three years earlier, and the community narrowly avoided running dry.

The state government sets aside just 70 per cent of Tamworth Regional Council’s 16.4 gigalitre Chaffey Dam licence for urban supply, with the rest going to irrigators on the Peel River and the environment.

“I think that the people of Tamworth would be very surprised to know the truth about how the water in Chaffey Dam is being used,” Plibersek said.

“Despite the [Chaffey Dam] capacity being increased [by 38 gigalitres] in 2016, the city nearly ran out of water during the last drought. But now we know why – because the city wasn’t given enough water.”

Tamworth requires 10 gigalitres a year, on average, so the council’s 16.4 gigalitre licence should be sufficient for dry years, when more water is used, and population growth.

The Dungowan Dam upgrade, to 22 gigalitres, was already in question after a review in August by Infrastructure Australia found it would be “a significant infrastructure intervention with costs that far outweigh the benefits”.

The Commonwealth’s independent planning body said the proposal’s economic benefits were “very low” and ensuring the full reserve allocated to the town was set aside was a “lower-cost solution” to assure Tamworth’s water security.

In last month’s federal budget, the government deferred $900 million of spending its predecessor had set aside for dam building over the next four years, pending the assessment of business cases, including for Emu Swamp Dam in Queensland and Wyangala Dam in NSW.

Plibersek said irrigators should receive their “fair share” of water but governments “must prioritise the ability of communities to be able to turn on their taps and access clean and safe water”. She said she would be taking a “very careful look” at all federally funded dam proposals.

“This includes a careful examination of Dungowan Dam and whether there are more cost-effective alternatives such as those outlined in the Infrastructure Australia assessment,” she said.

The NSW government defended its commitment to Dungowan, with a spokesperson saying the expansion would help drought-proof town water supply into the future, which is forecast to be hotter, drier and with more variable rainfall.

“If Tamworth Regional Council could access their full entitlements in [Chaffey Dam] and Dungowan Dam with absolute certainty, Tamworth would not have a water supply problem, which would be an ideal situation. But the harsh reality is – this is not the case,” the spokesperson said.

Nationals MP Joyce, whose electorate includes Tamworth, said the push to rely more on the council’s licence was only good if the dam was big enough to store sufficient water to get through drought cycles.

He said boosting water supply was critical to growing the region’s economic prosperity, noting chicken meat processor Baiada’s plan to invest in a new facility.

“[Baiada] wouldn’t want to spend over $600 million on their plant that would employ over 1100 people – that’s not just people plucking chickens, that’s by mathematicians, computer programmers, salespeople the lot – unless they get water security.”

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