Page 4779 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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These issues are not directly addressed by what are called permanent water conservation measures. It does create a situation where people may get the impression that the pressure is now off and it is perfectly all right to use water willy-nilly—perhaps in the way satirised in the Pope cartoon yesterday or the day before in the Canberra Times. We do not want to send the message that it is all right to get rid of your water efficient showerheads and replace them with great big suckers because we are now out of water restrictions.
This is a message that we need to get out to the community, and we need to find a middle ground between those people who do not want to change anything, who think it is all right to have dead grass, and those people who want to improve the look of their own property and improve the look of the city that we have come to love as a garden city.
This motion today welcomes the announced changes. It is quite interesting that the changes which were going to be part of a two-week consultation a week ago suddenly were brought forward some time after Mr Sullivan launched a program at Rosary primary school but before the Canberra Times went to press. I have a sneaking suspicion that there was suddenly an impetus from the government to do something about water restrictions after they saw the program for today and the motion from the Canberra Liberals. Of course, that will be denied, but members of the public and members of the Assembly can make up their own minds on that.
We welcome the changes to the water restrictions regime but we believe that there needs to be a thorough review. I have been calling for a thorough review of water restriction regimes since 2003. I have been in this place too long and talking about water too long, but I will continue to talk about water and talk about the need for a rational approach and a better approach to water restrictions than the one that we currently have under permanent water conservation measures. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (5.26): I move the amendment circulated in my name to Mrs Dunne’s motion:
Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:
“(1) notes:
(a) that the ACT has been on water restrictions as follows:
|
Stage |
Storage Level |
Date |
|
Stage 1 |
56.3% |
16 December 2002 – 28 April 2003 |
|
Stage 2 |
44.3% |
29 April 2003 – 30 September 2003 |
|
Stage 3 |
52.3% |
1 October 2003 – 29 February 2004 |
|
Stage 2 |
55.4% |
1 March 2004 – 31 August 2004 |
|
Stage 3 |
43.7% |
1 September 2004 – 28 February 2005 |
|
Stage 2 |
50.1% |
1 March 2005 – 31 October 2005 |
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