Page 1633 - Week 06 - Thursday, 3 May 1990
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A related problem stems from the fact that climate change will probably involve increased frequency and levels of flooding. A recent revision of predicted maximum rainfall levels for the ACT already makes the spillways on our dams inadequate. It is now clear that there may be even greater long-term problems.
Mr Speaker, the greenhouse effect may also have implications for our public health system. Medical conditions arising from increased temperatures and associated higher humidity will add to increased risks of infectious diseases spread by insects, with enhanced breeding conditions.
Urban infrastructure, such as drainage systems, the sewerage system, and electricity and gas supplies, may be affected by increased storm frequency and intensity. The planning of new suburbs and the capacity of the existing infrastructure to cope in the future must both be examined.
The third element of the strategy, that of community education, is a vital one. It would, of course, be appropriate to deal with greenhouse issues as part of overall environmental education. I hope that we will see some specific proposals for action from the Government when it releases its major environment statement.
The fourth element of the Government's strategy concentrates on coordination with other governments and on the need for research. Our federal system of government gives many coordination mechanisms and also allows for the sharing of information. I do not believe, however, that we should only look elsewhere for information about the greenhouse problem and solutions.
I have already mentioned two areas - namely, methane from landfill and control of wood fires - where I believe we could take a lead. From a research point of view, of course, we will never want to challenge the CSIRO or the Bureau of Meteorology who are already world leaders in the field, but one small initiative I think we could take in the ACT is to conduct an audit of greenhouse gas production. I know that the current environment Minister is incredibly keen on audits. Here is another proposal - an audit of greenhouse gas production.
I believe that such an audit would be a very useful exercise to establish precisely what contribution this Territory makes to the problem. This would allow us to tackle the problem with an exact knowledge of what we are dealing with at our local level. Any small input that we can make to research of this kind will be valuable because most research is, of course, being conducted in the northern hemisphere, where conditions are quite different.
I am pleased to see that the final element of the strategy, involving coordination within the ACT, has been kicked off with the production of the discussion paper. In
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