Once against wall raising, Treasurer is dam Kean now

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has backflipped on claims raising the Warragamba Dam wall is economically ‘unviable’.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has backflipped on claims raising the Warragamba Dam wall is economically “unviable”, now saying the project’s cost benefit analysis does not capture the full extent of its benefit.

The NSW government designated the project as critical state significant infrastructure on Wednesday, with Premier Dominic Perrottet asserting he would put “people before plants” in response to concerns the 14m extension would inundate thousands of hectares of the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park.

Three years after Mr Kean, then the state’s environment minister, said the economics of raising the dam wall made the project “unviable”, he claimed the project’s cost-benefit analysis offered an insufficient understanding of its value to flood-threatened communities in Western Sydney.

“What I’m saying is that there is more to this project than just the cost benefit analysis,” he said. “This is about protecting people. That should always be the government’s number one priority.”

As he reiterated his “well-known” love for national parks, Mr Kean said he was convinced the $2bn plan to raise the dam wall was the “right project”, calling on Anthony Albanese to agree to the 50/50 joint funding arrangement put forward by his government.

“If it becomes a choice between water lapping up in the lounge rooms and living rooms of people in Western Sydney, or in the national park, (then) I’m going to back the people of Western Sydney every day,” Mr Kean said. “We need to make sure that we’re protecting residents, we’re protecting people before plants, the Premier’s made that very clear, and I fully support that position.” While answering questions about the proposal to extend the dam wall in 2019, Mr Kean asserted there were “other ways” to mitigate the threat of flooding to houses along the Nepean River.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said in Mr Kean’s “extraordinary backflip” he had “abandoned” his promise to stand up for national parks and World Heritage protection.