Shadow Minister for Water, Steph Cooke, has slammed the Government’s inaction in response to the unfolding PFAS issue in NSW water sources.
“With new Australian Drinking Water Guidelines about to be introduced, local water utilities have already identified three PFAS contaminations across the state - yet the Government has offered no solutions, despite knowing this was coming for months,” Ms Cooke said.
"This is on top of the Sydney Water contaminations.”
In September last year, following highly publicised PFAS contaminations on the Belubula River and at Greaves Creek and Medlow Dam in the Blue Mountains, the Coalition called for a special commission of inquiry into PFAS contamination of waterways and water storages.
According to Ms Cooke this would have provided stronger investigative powers than the parliamentary inquiry that was ultimately established with the support of the Government and the Greens.
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Last Wednesday, the upper house inquiry heard damning testimony from Dubbo Mayor Josh Black, who revealed that PFAS levels in one of Dubbo’s bores exceeded current guidelines, while another exceeded the proposed new guidelines.
Wagga Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout confirmed that in Tarcutta, where PFAS has also been detected, Riverina Water County Council spent $20,000 last month on testing alone.
According to Ms Cooke, Cr Tout made it clear the NSW Government should bear the majority of responsibility for funding the response to PFAS contamination in town water supplies.
“The Government has committed zero infrastructure funding to help local water utilities tackle PFAS in drinking water,” Ms Cooke said.
“As Minister Jackson likes to say, the Safe and Secure Water Program is ‘fully allocated, though not exhausted’ until 2028.
"That means communities in crisis are being told to wait years before the Government even considers new priorities. The Safe and Secure Water Program is effectively on ice.”
Ms Cooke said the situation is even more dire in Warialda, where two of the town’s five bores are offline due to PFAS contamination, and a third is out of service.
For the past month, the community has relied on bottled drinking water.
When asked by Scott Barrett MLC how this would play out in a 2019- style drought, Gwydir Shire Council General Manager and Country Mayors Association PFAS representative Alex Eddy said the town would face immediate Level 5 water restrictions.
Ms Cooke said the council is now weighing up a $1 million water filtration upgrade or a $500,000 investment in a new bore outside the contamination zone—costs that small communities should not be left to shoulder alone.
“The Government can’t continue to turn a blind eye while communities bear the financial and health consequences of PFAS contamination,” Ms Cooke said.
“Local councils, water utilities and residents need urgent infrastructure funding and a clear, coordinated response—not more delays and excuses.”
