State Politics

Internal documents show Sydney Water considered outsourcing the treatment of water discharged into rivers and oceans, calling into doubt Baird government claims that it has "no plans" to privatise the utility.

The documents, obtained by Fairfax Media, reveal the state-owned Sydney Water hired consultant firm Farrier Swier to find ways to increase private involvement in the state’s 28 wastewater plants, thought to be worth up to $5 billion, which treat water from sinks, toilets and drains.

Water Minister Kevin Humphries has consistently rejected claims the government wants to privatise the state-owned Sydney Water, including wastewater plants, despite the government's support for the sale or long-term lease of assets to fund infrastructure projects. But NSW Labor pointed to recent moves to offload parts of Hunter Water to the private sector, including the operation of treatment plants, warning that Sydney Water is next in line.

A report to Sydney Water by Farrier Swier in late 2012 explored “increased private participation” in wastewater plants such as those at Bondi, Malabar, North Head and Cronulla. Farrier Swier's director, Geoff Swier, was a key figure in the Kennett government's power privatisation reforms in the 1990s.