Wallsend Labor MP Sonia Hornery hosted the state shadow minister for water Tuesday, to view Ironbark Creek infrastructure and address flooding concerns
Ms Hornery said there is a "great insecurity" among businesses in Wallsend since the 2007 Pasha Bulker storm.
"Why would you invest all your money in any kind of businesses knowing you might be flooded again," Ms Hornery said.
"I want our businesses to be secure here in Wallsend knowing that if it floods, there is some mitigation."
She said, because the stormwater infrastructure in Wallsend is owned and operated by Hunter Water, "one would expect that they would also be able to expand and maintain the drainage too".
Ms Hornery's office said Hunter Water had previously advised the member for Wallsend that without a regulatory requirement from the state water minister, they would not be committing funding to fix flooding issues in the Wallsend CBD.
"I have invited a succession of government water ministers to view the stormwater infrastructure in the Wallsend CBD to see for themselves the issue. Unfortunately, they do not seem to take it seriously," Ms Hornery said.
A government spokesperson said flood mitigation planning for Ironbark Creek through Wallsend is the responsibility of the City of Newcastle.
In a letter to Ms Hornery earlier this month, Minister for Land and Water Kevin Anderson said the NSW Government had "invested in initiatives to reduce flooding risk to Ironbark Creek", including grants to the City of Newcastle to carry out work as party of their flood risk management plan in Wallsend.
Mr Anderson also said the government had funded an engineering review of the City of Newcastle's proposal to widen Ironbark Creek which "included a review of opportunities for refinement in design and construction methodology, and an update of project costings".
"This review, completed by Jacobs, included a review of opportunities for refinement in design and construction methodology, and an update of project costings," Mr Anderson said in the letter.
Shadow Minister for Water, Rose Jackson, joined Ms Hornery in Wallsend on Tuesday morning and said the shadow government couldn't get a copy of the report and intended to use "parliamentary processes" to obtain one.
However, Hunter Water told the Newcastle Herald the report's "outcomes have been shared with City of Newcastle and we have also offered to brief the Member for Wallsend".
Hunter Water also said it had been working collaboratively with the City of Newcastle "as it progresses plans to reduce flooding risk in Wallsend".
"While we have an interest in this project and have been working constructively with Council, we do not have the authority or a regulatory obligation that enables us to invest directly in widening Ironbark Creek," a Hunter Water spokesperson said.
In the wake of consecutive rain events, Ms Jackson said the "infrastructure simply isn't good enough".
"It's rained for months and we've seen flooding in various areas right across the Hunter," Ms Jackson said.
"It hasn't impacted the Wallsend community yet but to be perfectly honest we know it's a matter of time. This community is flood prone, it has flooded before, it will flood again."
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