Page 3376 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 September 1991
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Having refused to corporatise this body, having refused to give them the authority and the power to carry on their business on a commercial basis - you do not want to do that - you want to sit there as a Minister and take your salary but not take the decisions that go with it. If you can convince me that that is reasonable and fair, then we Liberals, in opposition, will change our view.
The simple fact is, Mr Speaker, that we do not agree. The basis on which these Bills were prepared has been removed and there is no justification any more for the Minister abdicating his responsibility on that matter. That is why we no longer support these Bills.
MR MOORE (4.17): Mr Speaker, I find myself very closely aligned with the Liberals on this particular issue, but the methodology that I have chosen is to move the amendments to ensure that the Minister does retain the responsibility; that in fact the Assembly as a whole retains the responsibility of any possible changes to the basic water allowance that is provided to people in Canberra. The notion of a basic water allowance is not just related to environmental considerations, although that is an important factor that I will come back to. The basic water allowance is also a revenue raising device.
Many people are currently using around the basic water allowance of 455 kilolitres of water. I fit into that category, having used a little bit over it. I had to pay, as I recall, something like $4 or $5 for excess water. That, of course, adds to the revenue. What it also tells me is that I have to take more care in ensuring that I use less water.
I am in a sense declaring an interest. As in the case of many people in the inner city, we have English-style gardens. That is a characteristic of our neighbourhood and it is part of the reason why it has a heritage listing. It is more difficult to keep non-native gardens alive without using a significant amount of water. There is a conflict, if you like, between the conservation of water and the conservation of a heritage style.
This is something that is not dealt with particularly well by a simple cut in water. It will put the onus on owners like me to ensure that we find methods like drip irrigation or drip systems in order to keep our gardens alive. I should point out that this is not the first cut in the basic water allowance; there have been a number of cuts in the last few years. I should also add that I always water my gardens with a timer. It is not a case of allowing water to run down the gutters, as we see around Canberra on numerous occasions. It is appropriate to draw to people's attention their responsibility in terms of water conservation. For that reason, I have accepted a reduction in the basic water allowance from 455 to 350 kilolitres.
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