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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Wednesday, 25 August 2004) . . Page.. 4252 ..

addition, the government amendments address a number of political items that have been raised in response to Mrs Dunne’s bill. These include making it clear that the regulations apply only to taps above sinks in kitchens and laundries and to showerheads, and do not apply to business plumbing or for properties where there is currently very low water pressure.

The Democrats support the proposal in relation to insinkerators—that we no longer allow the installation of garbage disposal units in sinks that flush food waste into the sewerage system. This is a poor practice, from a waste disposal perspective, from a water quality perspective and from a water use perspective. While it is a small step in improving water usage and water quality, it is a worthwhile step and the Democrats support it. There is also a new Australian standard in place in the ACT that requires all new homes and extensions to be fitted with a pressure controlling device. This means that water pressure will be limited to 500 kilopascals. This initiative will reduce the amount of water flowing out of domestic taps and will assist in reducing water consumption.

I thank Mrs Dunne for bringing this bill forward for debate—and I note that it has been on the notice paper in various forms for quite a while. The government has had ample opportunity to address some of the issues since Mrs Dunne first put forward the ideas contained therein. I think it is a pity that they have not acted sooner in looking at some of these more practical means of reducing water consumption.

As we all know, the government has announced the reintroduction of stage 3 water restrictions in the territory. Our water reserves are at some of the lowest levels in history, as the weekly TV ads inform us, so we cannot afford to waste time in improving our water usage. We need to realise that, in the end, it is only through water use reductions that we will be able to solve some of the ACT’s water supply problems.

We need to recognise that a new dam alone will not solve the problems. It is only through learning to live within our means that we can provide a certain water supply and provide enough water for environmental flows and the needs of downstream users. Whilst I support Mrs Dunne’s intentions this evening, I support the government’s amendments as a way of making this bill slightly more workable and slightly more efficient.

I welcome this bill put forward by Mrs Dunne. I welcome the debate this evening on how we can more effectively deal with our water use into the future, because that has been missing from the water debate. The water restrictions focus solely on what is happening outside the home. We have not yet turned to look at what is going on inside the home. I think the next step is to look at what is going on inside businesses. There is a lot to be done to address water usage in the ACT and we need to be moving quickly on it.

MRS CROSS (11.41): I rise to support Mrs Dunne’s bill in principle and will be supporting the government’s amendments. Australians remain the highest users of water per capita in the world and, given the current arid conditions Canberra is facing, we are in dire need of sustainable water consumption strategies that make for the efficient use of one of our most precious resources. Not before their time, regulations have been promulgated to bring into force initiatives for the efficient uses of water. It would be remiss of us not to act as soon as possible.

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