Page 4649 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
These days on Facebook you can update your status on how you are feeling. If I updated my status on Facebook, it would say “feeling stressed”. Why? It would be because we all need to be aware of the current and emerging water stress that we need to respond to. In 2016 the United Nations water agency said that in nine years two-thirds of the world’s population would be living in water stress conditions. Madam Speaker, if we take this chamber as the world, this part of the chamber will be living in water stress conditions and maybe the gallery part of the chamber will be okay for now.
What is apparent is that we need to start considering how we approach water and we need to get the message out about water conservation now, not just when it gets tough. I am pleased to bring this incredibly important topic to the Assembly today so that we can start a conversation on long-term water security and efficiency in the ACT.
Madam Speaker, Australia is facing significant water constraints. From late 1996 to mid-2010, much of southern Australia experienced a prolonged period of severe dry conditions known as the millennium drought. In 2006, then Prime Minister John Howard described the drought as a one in a thousand year drought. However, since then we have seen more droughts of that severity more often and, with the effects of climate change, our water security is challenged further.
In the ACT our water systems are secure at present due to the infrastructure investment into our water system. However, our jurisdiction has been always a forward-thinking one. I believe that it is our responsibility to act pre-emptively on future and current challenges so that we do not reach a point where it impacts our lifestyle and our environment is compromised.
It has been five years since the ACT water strategy 2014–44: striking the balance was released. I am pleased to be calling on the government to hold consultation with stakeholders and relevant experts to discuss how we are on track with our plan and report back to the Assembly on the government’s findings from these consultations before July 2020.
I would now like to draw attention to the daily water consumption we all engage in. For example, a one-minute shower uses up to 15 litres of water; washing your dishes by hand uses 18 litres of water; and a sprinkler going for an hour uses a whopping 1,000 litres of water. Water is a scarce resource in many parts of Australia and in the world. As we go into the future it is important that we treat it as such.
In recent years, low rainfall in many parts of Australia has led to low water storage levels, causing concern about the adequacy of water supplies. Population increase in Australia and Canberra is also putting more pressure on water supplies. As we face a changing climate and rising temperatures, we are seeing much higher rates of evaporation of water.
The combination of climate change and increasingly dry conditions we are seeing in Australia means that water is scarce and will become more scarce in the future. There is no doubt that water is absolutely essential. Wherever water flows on earth, you will
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video