Chris Minns says documents show Liberals considered privatising parts of Sydney Water

Documents which canvassed the imaginable partial privatisation of a Sydney Water plus were compiled astatine the petition of the New South Wales Treasury department, which the authorities Labor absorption volition trust connected to reason the authorities was contemplating a broader sell-off of the asset.

Chris Minns volition people the commencement of the NSW predetermination campaign’s last week connected Sunday by continuing his pursuit of the Coalition implicit its grounds connected privatisation, seeking to usage documents compiled by consultancy steadfast KPMG to reason the premier, Dominic Perrottet, directed the nationalist work to analyse a imaginable sale.

At a “save Sydney Water” rally successful Parramatta connected Sunday, Minns is expected to accidental that the aboriginal of the inferior is “on the ballot”.

“If the Liberals and Nationals get voted backmost in, Sydney Water won’t past the adjacent 4 years,” Minns is expected to say.

The claims person been rejected repeatedly by Perrottet, who has consistently ruled retired immoderate merchantability of Sydney Water portion besides accusing Labor of moving a “scare campaign” successful the physique up to adjacent Saturday’s vote.

With little than a week until the poll, occidental Sydney remains the important battleground for some parties and connected Sunday the Liberal enactment volition clasp its ain rally successful the marginal spot of Penrith.

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The “keep occidental Sydney moving forward” rally volition spot Perrottet joined by the erstwhile premier curate John Howard.

While the authorities is seeking to onslaught Labor implicit its nonaccomplishment to perpetrate to large infrastructure projects, specified arsenic the 2 occidental and south-western Sydney metro lines, Labor volition proceed to people the Coalition implicit privatisation.

A tranche of documents released by Labor past week showed the Coalition spent astir $400,000 connected consultants’ reports earlier the outsourcing of a Sydney Water attraction works successful occidental Sydney past year.

The Coalition has said the outsourcing of the works was a “standard manufacture practice” and that it volition beryllium “owned and controlled” by Sydney Water.

But the reports seemed to uncover information of a wider privatisation of the utility. A study prepared by KPMG successful 2020 outlined “financial challenges” faced by the agency, and said “major structural changes [were] being contemplated”.

In effect to questions during a statement connected Channel Nine past week astir Sydney Water, Perrottet insisted the authorities had “never conducted a scoping study” connected a imaginable merchantability of the asset.

“No 1 has spoken astir privatising Sydney Water but Labor,” helium said.

“We’ve ne'er directed the nationalist work successful narration to Sydney Water.

“We’ve wholly ruled it out. We’ve ruled it retired astatine the past election, we’ve ruled it retired astatine this election.”

But 1 of the KPMG documents, prepared successful April 2021 and marked “Sensitive – NSW Government”, notes it was “prepared astatine the petition of NSW Treasury” erstwhile Perrottet was the state’s treasurer.

The document, titled “Majority Interest Asset Financing Model”, outlines the imaginable ownership operation for the recycling plant, including the instauration of a bulk involvement financing exemplary which would let Sydney Water to merchantability a 49% involvement successful the asset.

“This deliverable has been prepared astatine the petition of NSW Treasury,” the papers states.

The shadiness treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, accused the authorities of “misleading the radical of NSW for years implicit Sydney Water”.