The NSW Government’s commitment to completing the Yass Water Project remains firm – but a Liberal Government will ensure that the project is delivered without fears of cost blowouts, underestimates or wastage.
Let’s be clear. At the last election, Yass Valley Council said it was going to take $10 million to fix the problem. As the local Member, I secured this funding, and Stage One of the project has already been completed.
However, for an investment decision to be made by the NSW Government a robust business case is required, and this involves properly evaluating the options and the costs associated. This work is now underway and early indications are that the project costs will exceed the initial $10 million that Council estimated at the time of the election by more than 200%
Put simply, the NSW Government cannot make a funding allocation until this work is completed, and that is why we are working with Council on that Final Business Case. In the presence of the water minister last week Council staff told me it is going to take them 9 months to complete the final business case, a business case that the NSW Government has funded. As a Local member I will not be caught out again making a funding announcement that will not get the job done.
As the Local Member, I have ensured that $3.7 million of the allocated funds were immediately unlocked for improvements to the existing plant, to provide improvements to Yass residents in the short term. If it was not for my hard work in getting NSW Water and Yass Council together to agree on implementation of Stage 1 – a year after being awarded the money from the election commitment – we would not have seen ANY progress.
Council also has a pipe network contributing to a substandard delivery (and discolouration) of the water, yet, I have not seen any commitment from Yass Councillors to gain an understanding of where the source of the problem is coming from and their plans to replace and maintain this pipe network.
There have been plenty of funding opportunities for Councils (for instance the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund with successful projects for Round 3 announced just this week). Yass Valley Council did not apply for the expansion of Yass water treatment plant. Council has not applied for funding to replace the aging pipe network.
The community is being continually let down by the lack of planning on this and other issues. There has been no shortage of funds that council can apply for and please note Council still have $6.3M from the last commitment that hasn’t been spent.
Other Councils in my electorate have done the work and their communities are benefiting.
WENDY TUCKERMAN 