Page 4781 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Minister for Water to protect the ACT's water needs; and
(4) notes the Government will report to the Assembly on progress on the matters raised in (3) (c), (d) and (e) by the last sitting day in June 2011.”.
I welcome the opportunity to debate the issue of water here in the Assembly this evening. It is interesting to note that Mrs Dunne continues her nasty and personal vendetta against Mr Sullivan, one that she failed to achieve any success with in the complete debacle of the privileges committee investigation into Mr Sullivan.
Mr Seselja: On a point of order, Mr Speaker.
MR CORBELL: Of course, Mr Seselja rushes to her defence.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Corbell, resume your seat, thank you. Stop the clock, thank you, clerks.
Mr Seselja: Mr Speaker, we dealt with this. It was Mr Corbell who forced a withdrawal from Mrs Dunne yesterday for using the term “vendetta”. He knows that, and he has gone and used it deliberately. I would ask you to ask him to withdraw.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you. Mr Corbell, if you would withdraw the—
MR CORBELL: I am happy to withdraw, Mr Speaker, but there is no doubt that Mrs Dunne has got it in for Mr Sullivan. That seems quite clear, and that was repeated today in the nasty and personal reflections that she made on him during her speech earlier today.
The government is committed to delivering a strong level of water security for the ACT. We have been fortunate to experience good winter and spring rainfall, with rainfall so far above the annual average. Our storage levels in our dams are now over 87 per cent capacity, and the government and the water utility are well aware of the situation and the need to determine whether the ACT’s temporary water restrictions should be maintained.
I note Mrs Dunne’s criticism of the process for determining this. But, in fact, if she was aware, she would know that the restrictions regime sets out the considerations and the relative levels that trigger certain levels of restriction. We are well over those minimum levels when it comes to the decision to revert to permanent water conservation measures.
Mrs Dunne seems to seek to have it both ways in this debate—criticising the government for not relaxing restrictions sooner but then also criticising the government for the relaxation being too generous. It really is a glass-half-empty, walk-both-sides-of-the-road sort of approach from Mrs Dunne.
Mr Smyth: You’re mixing your metaphors, Simon.
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