Page 1606 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 2012
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Some of the areas where the raised funds were utilised at the Malkara school include a secure, all-weather play area adjacent to their classroom for students with autism, two safe courtyards adjacent to classrooms for younger students, 16 iPads, a customised school chair for a high-needs student, commencement of a program of replacing seven interactive whiteboards, engagement of a specialist visiting literacy consultant one week a month for 2012. And there are many others.
The principal of Malkara school, Jennie Lindsay, gave a very emotional speech on the day, giving thanks on behalf of the Malkara school community to all involved in this wonderful community effort to support a very special school.
In my capacity as shadow minister for disability, I have made a number of visits to Malkara school and I congratulate Principal Jennie Lindsay and her wonderful staff for their dedication to Malkara. I would also like to thank the hats and gloves committee for their hard work and great contribution to such a wonderful cause, the Malkara special school.
Nexus eWater
Earth Hour
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (5.32): Tonight I would like to acknowledge local business Nexus eWater, which has just been placed third in an international waste water innovation prize. This annual competition is run by San Francisco-based, non-profit organisation Imagine H2O, and recognises the world’s most promising water start-up companies. The winners were chosen from a field of 50 entrants by a judging panel that included leaders in the international water industry. Criteria included the viability of the technology and the business model. Canberra company Nexus eWater was up against some stiff competition in the pre-revenue track of this competition, including a Stanford University project and a venture backed by the University of Queensland.
Nexus eWater was started by a small group of talented Canberrans, including CEO Craig Richmond. The Nexus team has world-class experience in unlocking the value of grey water and has received financial support from the ACT government’s ICon program and the ANU connect ventures discovery translation fund. Nexus eWater recycling technology converts a home’s grey water into near-potable water, while recycling the water’s energy for hot water heating.
Grey water from showers, baths and washing machines accounts for about 70 per cent of waste water generated in the home. Grey water is also warm and, when flushed away, represents a waste of both water and heat resources. The Nexus recycler not only converts grey water to a quality that is safe to use on lawns and in toilets but also extracts the heat from grey water and concentrates it in a hot-water tank. The product has been designed as a combined unit but will also be sold separately as either a water recycler or a hot-water system.
I saw one of the prototypes of the unit. I was invited out to a suburban house in Canberra, over in Mawson. It was a very impressive unit, particularly given that it
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