Page 3996 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 12 December 2006
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the appropriate and sustainable management of one of our most precious resources: water. The Water Resources Act establishes a regulatory framework, which is fundamental to the sustainable use of water. The regulatory framework identifies and protects the environmental flows needed to maintain our aquatic ecosystems; identifies the water resources across the ACT and in the ACT water sharing plan Think Water, Act Water; sets the sustainable limit for abstraction in each subcatchment; and limits water use to the sustainable yield through licensing requirements. All water taken in the territory, except that used for such purposes as firefighting and stock watering, is licensed and metered. This ensures that we stay within sustainable limits.
With this framework we protect both the needs of the environment and the sensible use of water resources for our town water supply and a range of other uses. Additionally, we have avoided the overexploitation of water resources that occurs in some jurisdictions. A new, more equitable scheme for allocating the territory’s water resources is under development and will be introduced through legislation early in 2007.
The government is committed to reducing its level of water consumption. We currently use a mix of water sources for public irrigation, including recycled, bore and potable water. The government is also committed to meeting the 25 per cent target in water conservation and our goal is to reduce the amount of potable water being used. The ACT government has sought assistance from Actew to provide recycled water as an alternative to potable water. Actew has confirmed that it can offer treated effluent to replace the use of potable water for activities like dust suppression and irrigation of trees and parklands.
The government has implemented a diverse range of initiatives and solutions to address the environmental challenges we as a society are faced with. It is through these initiatives, and in partnership with the private sector and the community, that we can make a difference and reverse the damage that has been caused by past generations. A healthy environment is critical to our survival and the survival of all living species, and the government has shown it is committed to ensuring we have a sustainable environment.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (3.58): The importance of delivering environmentally sustainable solutions to the ACT community is Ms MacDonald’s topic for discussion today as a matter of public importance. I am grateful to have this opportunity to talk about delivering environmentally sustainable solutions. I suspect that the only environmentally sustainable solution that came from Ms MacDonald was that she did not expend 15 minutes worth of CO2 in the course of extolling the virtues of the government on this matter.
Ms MacDonald: I drive a Prius and I subscribe to green choice.
MRS DUNNE: It was interesting to see Ms MacDonald trying to make a case for the environmentally sustainability credentials of the Stanhope government because really, when you look at it, there is very little that we can talk about. We can all engage in one-upmanship. Ms MacDonald drives a Prius and she subscribes to green choice.
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