Dominic Perrottet slapped down his treasurer's claim raising the Warragamba Dam wall was not an infrastructure priority, as the major parties tried to expose black holes in each other's budgets.
The dam wall project - first announced by Mike Baird in 2016 - has plodded through planning approvals over concerns about damage to native animals and the environment.
More than 2500 objections have been received, with the project expected to cost $1.6 billion in construction and up to $2.8 billion in environmental offsets.
Treasurer Matt Kean said the government's infrastructure priorities until June 2026 were outlined in the budget.
Raising the dam wall was not mentioned.
"You can talk about that for the next election," Mr Kean told Sydney radio station 2GB.
Mr Perrottet later said his government would begin construction by early 2027 if re-elected.
"We have a strong infrastructure pipeline," the premier told reporters on Wednesday.
"We've committed to raising the Warragamba Dam wall."
The premier committed to raising the wall to protect homes from inundation after deadly flooding last year.
Raising it 17 metres is expected to delay flood peaks and reduce costs from a one-in-100-year flood by $3 billion.
Mr Perrottet said final consultations were underway.
Once a business case was complete, the state would allocate construction funding and ask the federal government to pitch in.
"Whether it's a metro, a motorway or Warragamba Dam - as those projects come in, we make investment decisions and we allocate funding in the budget," he said.
The commitment to yet-to-be-funded projects was raised in a fiery radio debate between Mr Kean and shadow treasurer Daniel Mookhey.
The treasurer was pushed on whether state energy assets would be sold to bankroll dam walls and a road project on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
More than $60 billion in state assets have been sold since 2011 to fund the coalition's infrastructure pipeline.
"The fact is, you have a big black hole in your budget and you're trying to hide it," Mr Mookhey said.
Mr Kean said the coalition had no privatisation plans and would consider projects as business cases were completed.
He hit back with his own "big black hole" claim - aimed at Labor's plan to lift a cap on public sector wages.
Labor said the cost, potentially billions of dollars, would be offset by savings and productivity gains.
Against the backdrop of budget savings, Mr Perrottet blasted a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of misconduct at a local council, after the committee tried to get his younger brother to testify.
The premier claimed the inquiry was an attempt to "throw political mud in an election campaign".
The committee hired professional process servers to have Mr Perrottet's 26-year-old brother and Liberal-aligned people appear as witnesses.
Labor's Penny Sharpe said councillor Virginia Ellis, Christian Ellis and Jean-Claude Perrottet had evaded service.
"I cannot overstate what a serious matter this is but also that it's unprecedented," Ms Sharpe told reporters.
The premier said the state's corruption watchdog had already examined the council allegations and decided no investigation was needed.
29°C