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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 2907 ..

choose the right new supply option at the right time, with the full knowledge of all implications—environmental, social and economic. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise.

MS DUNDAS (4.53): With the time I have left I would like to raise concerns in relation to what the ACT has been arguing for at the Murray-Darling Basin Commission meetings. I understand that the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council is seeking agreement from water users along the length of the river system that water usage should be capped at current levels, with the ultimate goal of increasing river flows over time.

It is disappointing then that our Chief Minister has argued at council meetings that the ACT’s water usage should be allowed to increase as our population grows. This position is short-sighted and undermines the spirit of intergovernmental corporation that underpins the Murray-Darling Basin agreement. It is akin to the federal government’s embarrassing efforts to get special permission for Australia to increase greenhouse gas emissions instead of committing to emission cuts like other developed countries.

The fact is that the ACT not only can cap water use at current levels but quite possibly can also reduce our overall consumption even as our population rises. Per capita water consumption in the territory has dropped by almost 50 per cent since 1991, without the need for any major changes in our lifestyle or urban landscape. But overall water consumption is only down 10 per cent on 1991 levels, and the recent drought and water restrictions have highlighted the imbalance between our water consumption and supply. Fresh approaches and renewed commitment to water conservation are needed.

We need to be looking at water reuse as a major strategy to actively take pressure off our reservoirs. Melbourne Water is striving for a water reuse target of 20 per cent by 2010. Overseas, Florida is already reusing 34 per cent of its water, and California is reusing 63 per cent. The ACT has explored water reuse through trials, but we have not committed to a water reuse target, and that commitment is long overdue.

We have had no major changes in water management over the last number of years. The capture and treatment of stormwater is an essential first step towards restoring our position as leaders in water management, creating clear, clean lake water for us to use during summer and making sure that the water we are releasing through the Murray-Darling Basin is clean and usable.

MR SPEAKER: The discussion is concluded.

Appropriation Bill 2004-2005

[Cognate paper:
Estimates 2004-2005—Select Committee
Report—government response]

Detail stage

Schedule 1—Appropriations

Proposed expenditure—Part 1.4—Chief Minister, $76,209,000 (net cost of outputs), $27,856,000 (capital injection) and $590,000 (payments on behalf of the territory), totalling $104,655,000.

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