Home buybacks in flood-prone NSW ‘cheaper’ than plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall, experts say

The New South Wales government says a buyback of properties in areas at high risk of flooding would be prohibitively expensive, but experts disagree. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

A large-scale property buyback scheme in flood-affected parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley would cost more than $5bn, according to the New South Wales government’s own estimates.

But experts have questioned the price tag, saying more targeted buybacks would be cheaper than the Coalition government’s plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.