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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Wednesday, 18 August 2004) . . Page.. 3856 ..

been done over the last year to ensure that it is refined and that we have it at an appropriate standard. It goes a long way to taking the next major step in relation to meeting the target that we have set ourselves in the “Think water, act water” strategy.

We undertook to increase the quantity of grey water recycled or reused within the community from 5 per cent to 20 per cent by 2013. Over the last two or three years, we have made enormous strides in regard to the quantity of grey water we are reusing or recycling. We are now on 9 per cent. Along with Adelaide, we lead the nation in major city use or reuse of grey water. With the coming on line today of the Fyshwick treatment plant, we have increased the percentage of grey water we use to 9 per cent. That is a very significant achievement. It puts us almost halfway to the target of 20 per cent by 2013.

Interestingly, the plant commissioned today, which is now providing water to nine ovals, has a capacity to double its output. It is only on half capacity in terms of the output and distribution of water now to most of north Canberra. What we need to do as the next step is to extend the network of pipes for taking water to additional ovals. For instance, we propose to extend the network of pipes for the distribution of grey water to places such as Glebe Park, for instance—perhaps through Civic even to the Lake Burley Griffin foreshore. Commonwealth Gardens and Floriade are some other very obvious examples of how we might extend the network of grey water use or reuse to other significant parts of Canberra.

I envisage next that in partnership, hopefully, with the NCA we will be able to extend the provision of grey water to some of the other significant areas of high water use that we have throughout Canberra, those areas that are watered as part of our commitment to Canberra as the national capital. The major thoroughfares and the lake foreshore are quite obvious areas that we might target next, in addition to a range of smaller ovals, particularly in the first instance throughout north Canberra. Hopefully, in the future we will extend into south Canberra and begin to ensure that we have the capacity to meet that target of 20 per cent, and move on from there and strive for greater imagination in our capacity to continue to enhance the use of grey water.

Today was a very significant day. We have now moved to 9 per cent. We are now, along with Adelaide, the highest users of grey water of any of the major cities of Australia. We are now the major recycler of grey water in Australia. It is a credit to Actew. It is also a credit to our water strategy. It is a credit to the targets that we have set and our determination to be the community in Australia at the leading edge of water use and reuse.

Canberra Hospital—obstetric unit

MS MacDONALD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Acting Minister for Health, Mr Wood. Minister, I was very disturbed to see the headline in Saturday’s Canberra Times that shouted, “Probe into ACT baby deaths.” This was an alarming headline. Can you inform the Assembly of what the situation is and what is being done about it?

MR WOOD: It is the nature of headlines to be sensationist, isn’t it? It was an unfortunate headline because the fact is that we have an excellent health system, not least in our obstetric services. As to the detail, it is the case that a letter was received some months ago from a Dr Graham Bates properly raising some potentially serious

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