Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the call by the member for Macquarie for the New South Wales government to address the issues regarding the health of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system. The Hawkesbury-Nepean region covers 22,000 square kilometres and supports five million people in over 20 local government areas, including the electorate of Greenway. There are a number of creeks in my electorate that run from the Hawkesbury, and they are in serious disrepair as a result of the challenges facing this river.

The greater west region, which is the third-largest economy in Australia behind that of the Sydney CBD and south-west Queensland, is acknowledged as Sydney’s new economic powerhouse and comes within the catchment area. Significant economic activity depends on the catchment. Agriculture in the region has an annual farm gate value of well over $1 billion and eggs, poultry, fresh vegetables, flowers and fruit are supplied to Sydney markets. Additionally, the area supports oyster and prawn farming, extensive horse breeding and a turf industry. This has a flow-on effect for local businesses in the area that supply and service those major industries. The Hawkesbury-Nepean is also a major tourism drawcard. Such a resource is of vital significance to the economy, the population and the natural environment. The challenge is to maintain the health and sustainability of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river, and there are many challenges.

The best example of how the New South Wales government has let down the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment area is for me to talk about the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Action Plan 2006-15. I heard the member for Kingsford Smith talk about plan, plan, plan, plan. I did not hear him talk about action. I did not hear him talk about the sign-off of the draft plan. The draft plan, written in December 2005, is yet to be signed off. I refer to some of the challenges raised within that document. These are challenges not at grassroots level but at the management, funding and resource issues level—issues that are firmly in the hands of the New South Wales government.

The Hawkesbury-Nepean is a catchment of national significance. It supplies 97 per cent of the drinking water for metropolitan Sydney. This water supports the generation of 70 per cent of the state’s income. The federal government is committed to water management, and it is taking leadership on the issue. It remains the key national conservation challenge of our age. In 2003-04, the federal government approved close to $4.3 million and committed a further $12.9 million to the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority for the years 2004-07. I was present at that launch. I heard the member for Lindsay note that that involved between $1 million and $2 million—a lot less than $12.9 million. My challenge to the New South Wales government is to at least match what the federal government contributes. The New South Wales government needs to take more responsibility for water, follow the lead of the federal government and match, dollar for dollar, our contribution.

One of the strategies listed in the catchment action plan is to encourage more participation by community groups and to partner with local councils. As recently as August this year, the partnerships between the catchment management authority and Blacktown council and the catchment management authority and Hawkesbury councils were completed. On page 90 of the action plan, however, there is the warning that ‘the number of services local government is expected to deliver is increasing faster than its ability to fund’ and that ‘natural resource management is not always a top priority’.

The New South Wales government should shoulder the responsibility for management and funding of the issues and not devolve that responsibility to local government, who already complain of stretched resources. If the desired outcome is a healthy river system and the environmental, economic and social benefits that that brings then hiving off such responsibility to local communities, councils and volunteers is not in the best interests of the community, the river or the people it services. It is a sad indictment that time is being spent addressing management issues rather than getting on with the job of actually doing the work.

The federal government has invested significant funds to assist with weed eradication over a four-year period and has contributed to the control of a major outbreak of salvinia in 2004. The action plan is yet to be signed off by the New South Wales state government. Many of the people moving to the Hawkesbury-Nepean region want a rural lifestyle, and the number of small acreage blocks and hobby farms has increased. This puts enormous pressure on water resources.

The New South Wales government has delayed completion of its formal water planning for the water systems in the Sydney region, including the Hawkesbury-Nepean, yet this formal water planning requirement is one of the commitments under the National Water Initiative to which New South Wales is a signatory. There is great concern that the final plan will be inadequate to address Sydney’s growing water demand. I call on the New South Wales state government to not just plan but act. (Time expired)

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