Page 326 - Week 01 - Thursday, 29 November 2012
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What it identified—and, to my mind, this was actually quite pleasing—was that most the problems originated inside the ACT. It might sound odd for me to say that that is pleasing, but the good news in that is it means that this Assembly, this government and ACT residents can take responsibility for our lake. Clearly, a lot of the drivers are coming from activities that the territory has the power to alter. I think that is incredibly good news. It is quite empowering in the sense that we can now seek to actually do something about it in a very clear way.
I was talking about the importance of the lakes. The commissioner’s report identified some of that in a dollar term. I will not go into what is driving the problems in the lakes. I think Ms Berry did a perfectly good job of that and there is no need to repeat it. But certainly the commissioner identified the recreational benefits of Lake Burley Griffin alone being valued at more than $23 million a year. He went on to say that, of course, pollution in our lakes can cause serious human health impacts. The recreational benefits and the health costs really put in clear focus the need for us to take serious action on the lake. He went on to say:
The continued deterioration of Lake Burley Griffin as a recreational resource will cost Canberra more than $25.5 million annually.
They identified both the value and the cost, and that cost is a very clear one. I think they took the right approach in measuring that. They measured the direct recreational benefit to citizens of the ACT but also the tourism value and some of those measures, which are less direct but equally important to our community.
Members who were here last term will recall me talking about the fact that over the last number of years I have played some role in helping to organise the annual Australian championship race of triathlon that is held here in Canberra on the Australia Day long weekend. We are seeing a deterioration in the number of people that are coming from interstate to compete in the race. I think that is because Canberra has developed a reputation as being an unreliable race venue because of the repeated closures of the lake.
If you think about the fact that the race is held in January, usually on the Australia Day weekend, but it moves a little bit, that is the time of year when our hotels and our cafes in town are crying out for patronage. To have an event like that—it is just one I happen to know personally, but I am sure there are others—undermined by the deterioration of the lake is bad for the whole community, not just those who are participating in the event or spectating in it.
The good news, as I have said, is that the commissioner has provided a clear roadmap. I see the government task force has now had a look at that and basically endorsed it holus bolus, as best I can tell. That is why during the election campaign the Greens took forward a very clear plan to clean up the lakes and waterways. That plan was about action. It was about saying, “Look, we’ve got the studies now. We know what the plan is. We need to get on with it.” It is not going to be easy to fix the lake—and I think Ms Berry pointed that out very clearly—but the sooner we start, the sooner we will fix it. The longer we wait, the worse the problems will get. The community, I think, has a very clear desire for us to get on with it.
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