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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 738 ..

MR MOORE: Mr Humphries interjects, "A good report". Indeed, and there was a response that was appropriate from the Government at the time, and it is continued by the current Government. Of course, we can still continue to do more things about it within the budgetary context and with others.

What is the state of our waterways? We have heard from Mr Humphries and we have heard from Mr Kaine, who generally presented the Government line. Of course, there is an independent line. It was Mr Wood who established the position of Commissioner for the Environment, and he examined this very issue. What did he conclude? I quote from page 71 of his report:

In a number of areas of water planning and management the ACT is at the forefront of international practice.

We can take some pride in that. Members of this Assembly, on whatever side, can take some pride in their involvement in getting to this stage, and this community, as a whole, for the last 20 or 30 years, can take some pride in getting to that stage. That does not mean to say that we cannot do more, and I think that is the import of what Ms Horodny is saying. The report continues:

We believe this is necessary for the largest Australian inland city - and one that lies within the already stressed Murray-Darling Basin. The integration of land and water planning is well developed in the ACT and must be kept that way.

However, the loads of nutrients and suspended solids into ACT and downstream waters are close to, and at times exceed, sustainable levels.

There is a real challenge for us. The independent environmental ombudsman, our Commissioner for the Environment, is telling us that there is a particular area that we need to watch and we need to take action on. I think that is the sort of thing Ms Horodny would like raised in today's debate, apart from that relatively minor issue of jet skis that already has been dealt with. The report continues:

Given the likely population growth in the ACT and the rapid development of areas upstream of the Territory, increased degradation may occur unless we take further action.

Let us also look into the future and be prepared to take action. The commissioner went on to say:

Continued vigilance is required in reducing all pollution sources, but given the outstanding performance now being achieved by ACTEW at the LMWQCC, it is clear that further major reduction in pollution loads must come from improved land management throughout the catchment. Within the ACT this will involve applying the best management practices for rural lands and ensuring that development controls on urban areas are enforced to a greater extent than at present.

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