Page 1457 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2009
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leader in terms of our reaction to climate change and drought conditions. Despite the continued difficult drought situation, and with detailed consultative planning with peak sporting bodies, no local sporting competition has been cancelled, unlike in many other states and territories of Australia.
We need now to understand the implications of the continuing drought conditions on sport. The ACT government, leading the way nationally, has and will continue to pursue a range of innovative solutions to secure alternative water supplies for each sportsground, utilising and extending existing infrastructure, as well as implementing best practice water application technologies.
There is no single solution to drought-proofing sportsgrounds in the ACT and there is no silver bullet. The government is committed to undertaking a range of projects aimed at responding to the challenging conditions we face. A number of grounds have already been converted to couch turf, including Narrabundah Ball Park and the Greenway Enclosed Oval, to reduce water demand. Even through these challenging conditions, the government remains focused on its strategic vision, “Where will we play?”
This vision says that by 2013 no public or private sportsground in the ACT will rely solely on potable water. The vision signifies the importance of the challenge that the drought and the climatic change present to our sports industry, and the size of the job ahead. In order to prove the strength of our commitment to combating the climatic change in our environment, we announced that the 2008 sport and recreation services grant program would have a significant “drought-resistant” theme. $2 million was provided through the second budget appropriation for drought proofing activities within sport and recreation.
Through this we continue to assist a number of significant capital works projects aimed at drought-proofing sports. One of these projects includes the installation of Canberra’s first synthetic bowling green at Weston Creek Bowling Club. In another project to combat our changing climate, the government has provided Capital Football with $1.6 million to install a synthetic grass facility at Hawker Enclosed Oval. The construction of this facility is underway as we speak and should be completed and ready for use for this forthcoming winter season.
In the face of the predicted drier and warmer climate in Canberra, planning is well advanced on projects that will substitute alternative water sources or limit demand for our valuable supplies. Stormwater drawn from lakes and ponds is one option that will provide important opportunities for substitution. Two schemes are already in place in north Canberra using recycled water for irrigating 24 hectares of sportsgrounds. The reconnection of Gordon district playing fields to a water supply from Point Hut pond is almost complete. This will ensure the water supply for 5.6 hectares and this will be operational within the next few months.
Each step we take towards drought-proofing our facilities is a step in the right direction. Even though we are leading the way nationally, there is still more the government can and will be doing. I am particularly enthusiastic about innovative practice that can be adopted and what the industry, both independently and in partnership with the government, can achieve.
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