National

Election pledge to return water asset to public control

Mar 4, 2026

SA PETER MALINAUSKAS ELECTION CAMPAIGN — Peter Malinauskas says SA Water will be returned to direct public control if Labor is re-elected. -AAP Image

One state's water services are set to be returned to public control under a Labor government election pitch, drawing criticism from the opposition.

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South Australia's water utility and its major industrial projects will be combined with a new gas reserve under the proposal aimed at driving economic growth.

Premier Peter Malinauskas on Wednesday unveiled the plan, saying SA Water - which is responsible for water and sewerage services - would be returned to direct public control under a re-elected Labor government.

Under the plan, a new SA Gas & Water Trust will be created to "decorporatise" SA Water.

The trust will bring together SA Water, the proposed State Strategic Gas Reserve and industrial water projects.

"This â€¦ is all about economic development and utilising the resources that we have now been able to bring into the state," Mr Malinauskas said.

"Rather than exporting gas to Japan and Korea, we're going to retain the ability for that gas to unlock growth in our state."

The Trust would be charged with driving co-ordinated planning, supporting housing growth and accelerating major investment.

By aligning water along with energy planning and delivery, the Trust would ensure critical infrastructure was delivered in step with housing growth and major economic development, Labor said.

If re-elected, Labor would convene a taskforce to provide technical advice on the legislative and regulatory framework and would seek to introduce legislation in 2026-27.

But SA's Liberal Party said the policy declared ahead of the March 21 election left many questions unanswered and lacked detail.

"What risk is there of political direction to SA Water once it's decorporatised - what will that mean for water infrastructure?" opposition spokesman Ben Hood said.

"What does it mean through a political lens if it is subsumed fully into government?"

Labor said the new Trust would ensure "ongoing alignment" between its objective to build 13,500 homes per year and the necessary water infrastructure.

But the Liberals seized on latest ABS data showing that SA had the largest monthly fall of private sector house approvals in the nation, down 8.9 per cent in January, while total dwellings approved fell 9.3 per cent, the second largest drop in the nation.