Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to move on to more pressing matters in my electorate. As we all know, Australia faces a great challenge to better manage our scarce water resources now and in the future. In my electorate of Stirling the community has taken up this challenge, with a number of local projects successfully applying for funding under the federal government’s Community Water Grants program. Millions of litres of water are set to be saved in Stirling, thanks to funding of $127,000 received through community water grants announced in the first funding round of this program.

Last week I had the great pleasure to present one local primary school with a commemorative plaque in honour of their $50,000 school efficiency project that will save an incredible 14,200,000 litres of water each year. Deanmore Primary School in Karrinyup has put together a sprinkler efficiency project that will reduce the amount of ground water used to irrigate its sports ovals through the use of more efficient sprinklers, watering at night for less evaporation and reducing watering times. The school has calculated that the project will save up to 45 per cent of the ground water currently used to irrigate the school’s turf areas, which will in turn save on electricity and labour costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will give students and the local community greater access to the oval, which is now restricted by the presence of surface pipes and wet areas when the sprinklers are operating. Importantly, it will provide practical study examples to increase the awareness of students of water-wise practices.

Deanmore Primary School’s amazing project is proof that even the smallest of local communities can take responsibility for achieving a sustainable and water-wise future. Everyone can and should play their part. I am proud to say that in my electorate of Stirling our schools, the local council and our local environmental groups are all volunteering for many hours to implement water-wise projects. It is an incredible commitment by them to conserve our most precious resource.

The Community Water Grants program is an excellent one that has been championed by the government, and it is part of the Australian government’s $2 billion water fund. The Community Water Grants program will make a real difference in the way that our community uses its scarce water resources, and I heartily commend the project.

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