NSW Irrigators' Council is urging the NSW Government to ensure the core service delivery capabilities for rural and regional water users is maintained in light of the restructure and staffing cuts announced by WaterNSW yesterday.
While acknowledging the ongoing financial issues at WaterNSW, NSWIC CEO Dr Madeleine Hartley said it was important to remind the state government of the importance of river management in keeping rural economies ticking.
"Communities across the state depend on WaterNSW to deliver and manage water, dams and related infrastructure in NSW for drinking, environmental flows, and irrigation", said Dr Hartley.
"WaterNSW manages 41 major dams and their river systems across the state. It's a critical job that needs skilled, experienced staff who understand local conditions," Dr Hartley said.
"WaterNSW also largely manages the water licensing and approvals processes, water accounting and IT systems in NSW. These core services are fundamental to our members' ability to maintain compliance with our already complex water laws.
"Losing more staff, on top of previous staff cuts made in 2022, risks serious damage to service delivery and further risks the employment of regionally-based staff who know and understand the dams and rivers in their regions."
Dr Hartley acknowledged that NSWIC has been a vocal critic of the current water pricing model, but asked that any staffing cuts at WaterNSW did not further disadvantage rural communities that are already dealing with Commonwealth water recovery programs, floods and drought.
"Water licence holders pay a large portion of WaterNSW's budget and must have core services maintained.
"For most irrigators, WaterNSW staff are the first port of call for river management issues, and water licensing and approvals. We ask that WaterNSW prioritises this as part of their restructure and retains a firm focus on maintaining the skills and capabilities across the state that our communities and members depend on."
