Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister has come out swinging against environmental impact studies getting in the way of building dams and major projects.

“You’ll always get some environmentalist who will find a frog or something to roadblock a dam,” Michael McCormack told ABC Radio on Monday.

State and federal National Party politicians are ramping up calls to fast-track the planning process for dam construction, as parts of regional NSW rapidly run out of water due to the ongoing drought.

Mr McCormack wants to build more than a dozen new dams across Australia.

He believes it is time to be “more sensible, more practical” about environmental studies.

“You have to do some environmental impact studies, of course you do; but let’s be reasonable about this,” Mr McCormack said.

“The nation needs water infrastructure, people need drinking water, irrigators need to grow food and fibre.”

The Morrison government is spending $100 million to establish a National Water Grid Authority to oversee the construction of new dams.

-AAP