Page 128 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 December 2008
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Water is one of the most valuable resources the government needs to manage. The recent drought has further focused the government’s attention on this very important area. The government’s water resources strategy Think water, act water that provided a program of rebates and incentives to assist ACT residents improve water efficiencies and reduce water consumption has seen the introduction earlier this year of the new ToiletSmart program to assist ACT residential property owners to replace single-flush toilets with water-efficient dual-flush toilets. The GardenSmart program has helped ACT residents have a healthy garden without using too much water by providing expert horticultural advice on plant choice, garden design and maintenance and mulching and watering techniques et cetera.
In February 2008 the ACT government commenced a program to distribute 10,000 greywater diversion hoses free of charge to ACT residents, and I was very happy to be able to launch that program. The ACT government also offers rebates for installation of rainwater tanks with internal plumbing connections to inside the home, for example, to the toilet or to the washing machine, on residential properties connected to Actew Corporation’s water supply network. These initiatives will result in Canberrans engaging local businesses and local tradespeople to make their houses and garden more water efficient.
The ACT government takes responsibility for the way its activities impact on the environment and looks to support the ACT community in the measures it can take for us all to adapt to tread more lightly. A green economy is an economy that will serve the ACT well into the future and the ACT government will continue to embrace innovative policies and programs to ensure that a green economy is nurtured.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (5.51): I thank Ms Hunter for bringing this matter of public importance forward today. I think it is a discussion that we need to continue to have. Of course it is more than just a discussion; we need to take it further and look for concrete actions over the coming years to turn the aspirations that many in the community have into a reality.
There are many good reasons for greening the ACT economy. There are good economic reasons. We believe that the ACT has a competitive advantage, with its highly educated population, with the state-of-the-art research that goes on at the CSIRO and the ANU. We have a real opportunity to become a sustainable economy, to have sustainable industries in the ACT. There are good economic reasons to do that. We know that these are emerging industries. These are going to be industries that provide export dollars for the ACT and for Australia.
But of course it is also about lower emissions; it is also about being a more responsible community in the way that we use our resources and in the way that we contribute to the environment, not just locally but also globally. So there are a number of good reasons to do this. And we are well placed.
Look, for instance, at solar. I think the ACT is very well placed, not just for the reasons I have mentioned—the highly educated population, the ANU, CSIRO—but also because of our climate, because of the days of sunlight here. There is the
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