Kerry Bartlett (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Two weeks ago, the government announced the first round of community water grants. I was delighted that a number of applicants, both in the Blue Mountains and in the Hawkesbury parts of my electorate, were successful in receiving a grant. Under round 1 of these community water grants, $443,100 will be spent in my electorate on projects which will annually save millions of litres of water.

Organisations to receive funding include Arndell Anglican College at Oakville, Barker College at Mount Victoria, Blue Mountains City Council, Blue Mountains Grammar School, Carinya Neighbourhood Centre at Springwood, Saint Columba’s High School, Hawkesbury City Council, Katoomba High School, Leura Public School, Wycliffe Christian School, and Vipassana Meditation Centre. I congratulate the proponents of these projects. These projects will undertake quite a diverse range of activities, from collecting and recycling water for irrigation in school grounds to community gardens and bush food projects, recycling treated waste water for toilet flushing, and so on. These are very practical projects which will save water, but they will also help to develop a culture of wiser water use, conservation and recycling, particularly within the schools in my electorate.

Everyone knows that water is a precious resource. This government, through the community water grants, which is part of the $2 billion Australian Water Fund, is showing great leadership in areas such as water recycling, conservation and reuse. The other parts of the government’s Water Fund include the $200 million Raising National Water Standards program, which aims to improve understanding, education and tools for the development of good water management practices. The biggest component, the $1.6 billion WaterSmart Australia program, aims to accelerate the development and take-up of new technologies and innovative approaches to better managing our water recycling and conservation programs.

This government, through the $2 billion Australian government Water Fund, is showing the way in terms of better use of this precious resource in this country. Understandably, I am very disappointed that the New South Wales government is failing to do its part to also show the necessary leadership in conserving and better using our water resources in Australia. Sadly, because of the procrastination and neglect of the New South Wales government, many communities are suffering, particularly those communities in the Hawkesbury part of my electorate. The Hawkesbury River is suffering because of excessively high nutrient levels and low environmental flows. These are both a direct result of the neglect of the New South Wales government and its failure to adequately plan for the growing water needs of Sydney. Until it takes seriously its responsibilities in these areas, our community will suffer. I urge the New South Wales government to lift its game in this important area.

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