Audio from 2021 has revealed the Managing Director of Sydney Water discussing the effects of privatisation of public entity Sydney Water.
The potential privatisation of Sydney Water has become a major debate point during the NSW election campaign, with Labor Opposition Leader Chris Minns resolute that the Coalition would sell off Australia’s largest water utility if given another term in government.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has consistently denied the accusations, labelling it as a “Labor lie” and a “scare campaign”.
Speaking on an episode of Inside Infrastructure in October 2021, Roch Cheroux claimed based on his industry experience, there would be no difference to residents if public water infrastructure was privatised in NSW.
“We would have a private ownership tomorrow in Australia, probably that would not change very much, provided that the regulatory system is the same,” he told hosts Adrian Dwyer and Janice Lee.
In the podcast, Mr Cheroux claimed private ownership of Sydney Water wouldn’t alter the body’s operation due to a “well-established” regulatory systems between the government, water corporation and stakeholders.
“Provided that you’ve got a set of shareholders that are behaving like normal shareholders, or the government’s behaving like a normal government, then you can achieve exactly the same (outcome) for the customer,” he said.
When contacted for comment on whether Mr Cheroux’s views still stand, a Sydney Water spokesman said “privatisation is a matter for the NSW Government,” and declined to comment further.
Mr Cheroux was the Chief Executive of SA Water from 2016-19, before he was appointed as Sydney Water’s Managing Director in 2019.
At the time, Mr Perrottet was Treasurer and the shareholding minister of the water body, and would have signed off on Mr Cheroux’s appointment, alongside then-Finance Minister Damien Tudehope.
Other bodies believe the privatisation of Sydney Water would have adverse effects on cost, water quality and services.
Modelling released by The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work in February found privatisation of Sydney Water would add between $174 to $269 to the average household water bill, with that figure likely to increase when factoring in inflation and population growth.
The report, which was commissioned by the Australian Services Union (ASU) NSW/ ACT branch, said the sale would also cost NSW roughly $870m a year in revenue from dividends and income tax, with shortfalls made up through higher taxes, work force cuts or a reduction in service quality.
Confidential documents leaked this week revealed the Coalition had looked into privatisation options for a Sydney Water facility in Kemps Creek, citing pressure from the government.
“Shareholders (government ministers) have large future cash requirements and have been seeking cash inflows through asset recycling and increased dividends,” read the commissioned KPMG report from January 2020.
On March 9, 2020, Mr Perrottet told parliament: “I have no plans of doing a scoping study into Sydney Water.”
In October 2022, Chinese-owned company Trility was picked to construct and operate the site over a five-year contract, however the government confirmed the plant would still be “owned and controlled by Sydney Water”.
Shadow Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the documents were proof that Mr Perrottet was “putting pressure on Sydney Water’s board to privatise” and accused the government of “privatisation by stealth”.
Treasurer Matt Kean defended the reports and said it’s not “unusual for Sydney Water or another corporation to contract work”.
“That’s what has happened in the past. The government obviously will continue with this policy.”