Minns Labor Government to take action on Cooks River

Sections of the river were realigned between 1946 and 1963, but land boundaries were not updated in all locations to reflect the changed riverbank. The river is now divided among several landowners, which has been an ongoing barrier for action.

As part of the surveying process, the river will become a Crown waterway under single consolidated State Government ownership, with land on either side to be retained as Crown land managed by each respective council.

While this work is underway, interim safety works have been completed at high-priority Crown land locations through the installation of about 200 metres of temporary exclusion fencing.

The works respond to identified risks associated with ageing steel sheet piling, erosion and subsidence behind sections of piling, and inadequate barriers along about 1.4 kilometres of riverbank.

Crown Lands has allocated $150,000 to Canterbury-Bankstown City Council for additional riverside works on council-managed Crown reserves. These temporary measures will help reduce public access to hazardous areas.

The Cooks River Coastal Management Plan (CMP), currently under development, will determine priorities for remediation, delivery responsibilities, and long-term management arrangements for the river and ageing riverbank infrastructure. The Plan will go on public exhibition early in 2027. Having a registered Coastal Management Plan will unlock funding pathways for identified actions.

Resolving the underlying tenure issue makes these longer-term investments possible.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully said:

"For more than half a century, the boundaries of the Cooks River have not reflected reality.

"This tangle of land ownership has held back investment and prevented solutions that the local community know the river needs from being implemented.

"The Cooks River Consolidation Project gives us a clear process to resolve these historic issues, and the interim safety works now in place are already reducing risks for the community."

Minister for Lands and Property, Steve Kamper said:

"For too long, fragmented land ownership and outdated river boundaries have made it difficult to coordinate action along the Cooks River. The Minns Labor Government is addressing these longstanding issues to put in place a clear framework for managing the river and delivering the improvements it needs.

"By resolving the underlying ownership issues, we can move beyond temporary fixes and give government and councils a clearer pathway to deliver lasting improvements along the Cooks River."

Member for Summer Hill Jo Haylen said:

"The Cooks River is much more than a waterway it is a much-loved part of the Inner West's parks and open spaces.

"But for decades, confusion over who is responsible for what part of the river has been the reason nothing got fixed. Resolving it is the step that makes everything else possible.

"The new fencing on the Inner West side keeps people safe from failing riverbanks right now, but fencing isn't the fix. Our community wants to see the steel piling replaced and the banks brought back to life, and this work clears the way to get on with it."

Member for Canterbury Sophie Cotsis said:

'The Cooks River is at the heart of our local community. We have been advocating for action on the Cooks River for many years because our local community deserves, safe, accessible open spaces that they can enjoy."

"The Minns Labor Government is getting on with the job of delivering immediate safety works while also putting in place the foundations for long-term investment in the Cooks River and surrounds"

"This is exactly the kind of practical action our community has been asking for, and it is only Labor that is delivering it"