Steve Gibbons (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the appropriation bills to illustrate the impact of the Howard government’s administration on various issues affecting my electorate of Bendigo, starting with the heavy-handed approach to community radio licensing. The demand of the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to identify a suitable frequency for Central Victoria to receive the parliamentary news network has threatened local community radio stations FreshFM and Central Victorian Gospel Radio, CVGR.

Evidence from Monday’s Senate estimates process clearly identifies the minister’s role in jeopardising the licences of FreshFM and/or Central Victorian Gospel Radio. It is now clear that the decision to cancel FreshFM’s broadcasting licence had little to do with the alleged late renewal application and everything to do with the minister’s demand that a suitable frequency be allocated for the broadcasting of the ABC’s NewsRadio and the federal parliamentary proceedings. FreshFM has had a substantial presence in Central Victoria and provides a wide range of programming that is not available from any other broadcaster, and its future is of major concern to large numbers of Central Victorians.

It is interesting to note this exchange in the Hansard of the Senate estimates process on 30 October 2006 regarding the cancellation of FreshFM licence:

Senator CONROYMinister, is there any suggestion that you can make? It just seems a little harsh, even if they have failed to get their paperwork in on time?

Senator CoonanSenator Conroy, I have absolutely no role and no discretion, but I can tell you that the act provides that, at the latest, they must lodge 26 weeks prior to the licence expiry ...

Senator CONROYBut could I urge you to consider encouraging ACMA to expedite the reissuing of a licence. This is a 25-year-old station, that sounds as though it is having a few administrative difficulties, at a minimum.

Senator CoonanSenator Conroy, that is a matter for the regulator. That is why we have a regulator. I have no role in this, but I have satisfied myself that the act has been properly applied, and I am quite confident that the regulator is capable and, if there is some basis for looking at this favourably, it would be disposed to do so. That is as far as I can take it.

The minister has actually caused these three broadcasters to compete for two frequencies in Central Victoria. FreshFM and CVGR have been broadcasting successfully for many years and are now under threat because of the minister’s demand to force broadcasting of the federal parliamentary proceedings and NewRadio onto one of the frequencies that service Central Victoria. The minister, who states she has no role in these matters, has actually caused this very situation.

These two valuable community radio broadcasters are providing much-needed services across a range of programs that are only available through community radio broadcasters. The proceedings of the federal parliament and NewsRadio are already available to anyone connected to the internet via a real-time webcast. I am sure that while there would be people who would want to listen to federal parliament broadcast on radio, the overwhelming majority of listeners would prefer the programs put to air by FreshFM and CVGR. In February 2000 the frequency utilised by CVGR was reallocated to Radio for the Print Handicapped. This resulted in a large number of CVGR listeners being severely disadvantaged. No-one begrudges Radio for the Print Handicapped listeners receiving a radio service, as in most cases this is the only method by which their audience can receive information. They have a substantial and a legitimate need.

What I find annoying is that, after losing the frequency, CVGR, at considerable expense—remember that CVGR use their own financial resources; they have never requested or received any financial assistance from government—retained the services of a consulting firm to identify any potential unused frequencies that may be available. Radspec Consultants provided an in-depth technical report on the suitability of 101.5 FM. Permission was eventually granted to conduct a test transmission resulting in no claims of interference with other frequencies or users. Consequently, CVGR have been successfully broadcasting on this frequency since 4 October 2002. What I find absolutely astounding is that the authority have advertised this frequency for use by other organisations after CVGR went to all the trouble and expense of identifying this frequency—effectively doing the job that one would expect to be the responsibility of the authority itself.

I call on the minister to postpone the broadcasting of federal parliament and NewsRadio to Central Victoria until the Howard government sorts out the mess it has made of implementing digital radio and to grant permanent licences to FreshFM and CVGR immediately. May I suggest that the minister direct her department to carry out a thorough examination of all frequencies that might be suitable and even contract private agencies, like Central Victorian Gospel Radio did, to research any options that may be appropriate. If CVGR were able to retain consultants who successfully found a suitable frequency it beggars belief that the department seems incapable of doing the same.

Water is an issue of major concern in my electorate of Bendigo, right across northern Victoria and in most of the eastern states. The Howard government continues to play the blame game with federal funding for the Waranga to Eppalock pipeline. Media comments in December last year by the then parliamentary secretary for water, and now minister responsible for water, stated that the Bracks government was holding up an announcement on federal funding for the project. The minister was quoted in the Melbourne media on 20 December as saying that the Bracks government was ‘dragging the chain’ by not providing a detailed costing and that it was somehow responsible for the Howard government’s stalling on an announcement of federal funding for the pipeline project.

The state government has provided a detailed submission, including costings, as required under the guidelines for funding from the National Water Commission. The state government has also identified the pipeline project as Victoria’s No. 1 priority for funding under the National Water Initiative. The minister is clearly indulging in the same old blame game that the Howard government is renowned for—that is, always blaming the state Labor governments in an attempt to opt out of the federal government’s own responsibilities. We saw the same blame game being played on federal funding for the Liberals’ share of the Calder Highway duplication that stalled the project for four years, and now they are trying the same tactic with the pipeline funding. The Liberals were not fair dinkum about funding this vital project for Central Victoria.

There were no submissions to the National Water Commission supporting federal funding for the pipeline from any Liberal or National MP. The only coalition MP, senator or candidate to send a submission to the National Water Commission regarding federal funding for the pipeline was Howard government minister Dr Sharman Stone, who vigorously opposed any federal funding. Obviously the local Libs are all talk and no action. They are not fair dinkum about federal funding for what is plainly Bendigo’s lifeline. I call on the Howard government to stop playing politics and immediately announce federal funding for this vital project.

The construction of the Waranga-Eppalock pipeline should provide an opportunity to strategically rethink the way water is delivered and utilised in Central Victoria. The Eppalock pipeline will substantially change the options for the delivery of water throughout Central Victoria in the future. It would provide an opportunity for a long-term proposal to dramatically increase the full capacity of Coliban Water—Bendigo’s water authority—in normal conditions without the need for expensive additional infrastructure.

For example, Goulburn-Murray’s current full capacity is almost 12 million megalitres. Coliban Water’s current full capacity is just 137,000 megalitres. A reduction of just 2.09 per cent of Goulburn-Murray’s total capacity would result in an increase in Coliban Water’s capacity of about 280 per cent. This could be achieved by lifting Coliban Water’s Eppalock allocation from 18 per cent to 100 per cent by reallocating management responsibility for Lake Eppalock from Goulburn-Murray Water to Coliban Water.

Obviously, this proposal can only be considered seriously now because of the decision to construct the pipelines. Campaspe irrigators would continue to receive their allocations from the Goulburn-Murray system via the Eppalock pipeline instead of the current arrangement of drawing water directly from Lake Eppalock. Reducing Goulburn-Murray’s full capacity by just 2.09 per cent, or 249,752 megalitres, would still leave the authority with a massive capacity of 11,692,408 megalitres of water. A 2.09 per cent reduction for Goulburn-Murray would represent the loss of a small puddle compared with their ability to continue to hold over 11.6 million megalitres of water at full capacity. But it would mean a massive increase in Coliban Water’s full capacity, from 137,485 megalitres to 387,236 megalitres in normal conditions. This could free up 100 per cent of Eppalock’s capacity in the future to exclusively supplement not only Coliban’s requirements but possibly Ballarat’s existing water supplies in future emergencies. With the additional capacity of sustainable access to groundwater, these measures should drought-proof Central Victoria well into the future.

It is also interesting to do the sums just on a 50 per cent increase in Coliban’s capacity by lifting the 18 per cent it currently gets from the Goulburn-Murray system to 50 per cent. The current capacity, as I said, is 137,485 megalitres. An increase in capacity to 50 per cent would lift Coliban’s capacity to 235,910 megalitres—a 71.6 per cent increase in Coliban’s capacity—with a reduction in capacity of 0.9 per cent for Goulburn-Murray.

I have already outlined in this parliament a proposal to deal with the water emergency by establishing a water bank in Central Victoria to supplement the purchase of water from the Goulburn-Murray system via the Waranga to Eppalock pipeline if the drought conditions we are experiencing now prevail or become even more severe. Coliban Water has been investigating the feasibility of accessing groundwater to secure the water supply for the Castlemaine and Kyneton districts as well as investigating using groundwater from the Elmore and Serpentine district’s aquifers to supplement Bendigo’s water needs.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment—DSE—has produced maps identifying groundwater throughout regional Victoria. These maps indicate a potentially large groundwater resource south of Bendigo, stretching from south of Elphinstone to Melton in the south and from Creswick in the west to Kilmore in the east, and situated below large areas of Coliban Water’s normal catchment area. The salinity levels for this water are calculated to be below 1,000 parts and therefore suitable for connection to town water supplies. The small town of Trentham, for example, is solely dependent on this water for its domestic use.

The precise size, terrain and volumes of water held in this aquifer are not clear. However, maps commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in 1994, as well as current maps produced by the DSE, show the potential for huge volumes of good quality water. If the drought conditions prevail or become worse over the next few years, the potential to enable groundwater from these sources to be pumped directly into the entire Coliban Water system may be a good option. I understand that, within the next couple of weeks, Coliban Water will be conducting test drilling in the Kyneton region, with a view to adopting the very proposal that I have outlined previously in this parliament. If those tests are successful, that would secure Bendigo’s water until such time as the Waranga to Eppalock pipeline is completed, which will be by September this year.

Accessing groundwater would enable a substantial addition to Coliban’s system, benefiting the Kyneton, Castlemaine and Bendigo districts without having to utilise the Elmore and Serpentine aquifers, which is the Liberal and National parties’ policy. Those aquifers are already at or approaching full allocation. Accessing water to Bendigo would result in more pipelines being built, which is very expensive and time consuming. It is far better to locate the water close to Coliban’s existing infrastructure and place that water straight into that system.

In addition to the Waranga to Eppalock pipeline and the recycling programs currently under construction by the Bracks state government and Coliban Water, accessing groundwater could provide the potential to drought-proof the Central Victorian region completely, possibly for decades. Surface water from the normal catchment areas of the Coliban and Goulburn-Murray systems, via the Eppalock pipeline, will secure our water requirements, but only if we get adequate inflows in those catchment areas in the future.

If the drought conditions worsen then utilising the available groundwater would become essential. When the drought conditions pass and the region’s catchments return to somewhere near normal, surplus surface water should be used to put water back into these groundwater reserves for future use. In other words, we would be establishing a water bank, accessing the groundwater from these aquifers in severe drought conditions and then replacing it or artificially recharging the system with our surplus surface water when conditions return to normal. The Centre for Groundwater Studies has said that artificially recharging aquifers—which is precisely what we are talking about—can also lower the salinity content of this resource.

There are many hundreds of farmers, householders and other landowners who depend on groundwater for their wellbeing and livelihood, and we must make sure it is always available to them. Accessing groundwater resources must be done in a carefully considered and sustainable manner, as aquifers are naturally recharged with surface water during normal conditions and therefore equally affected by drought conditions, resulting in a diminishing volume of water.

Because of the natural recharging process during normal conditions the aquifer should only require an artificial recharge of a percentage of the water removed in severe conditions to ensure the resource is always available. It would be unacceptable to do what the Liberal and National parties’ policy says, which is to simply plunder this resource without providing the means to artificially recharge the system under the right conditions. The Centre for Groundwater Studies’ website states:

Groundwater is the main water source of many towns and community centres all over Australia. It is also used for irrigation in several regions. In most areas allocation and/or use is in excess of the sustainable yield. In addition there is no single understanding or definition of sustainable yield across Australia.

Many terms are used to describe the resource potential; optimal yield, safe yield, mining yield and sustainable yield, but in general they are not well defined and in most cases are mainly described by the recharge component. The optimum utilisation of each resource depends upon balancing the recharge and discharge components with minimal disturbance to the other users (including the environment).

Although there are many scientific methods for determining recharge, discharge, storativity and specific yield, the application of these techniques in most cases are not well coordinated towards a sustainable yield concept and optimisation of the resource. At the same time, determining some of the parameters ie—specific yield are not well developed and are guess estimates.

Estimates of recharge have also been the basis for estimates of land salinisation, groundwater salinisation and river salinisation, the groundwater discharge component that is the main cause of salinisation has been grossly overlooked.

…                …              …

CGS research has demonstrated that even saline aquifers can be used to store temporary excesses of surface water to create new water resources or extend the life of over-exploited groundwater.

The conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water provides a flexible approach to water management. With the increased environmental constraints in siting surface reservoirs, conjunctive use for ‘banking’ surplus surface water in aquifers in times of plenty, for use in times of scarcity assumes increasing importance.

A technique called aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) where the same wells are used for injection and recovery to reduce operational problems such as well clogging, now offer viable ways in which water can be stored subsurface in deeper aquifer systems. CGS has demonstrated that brackish or saline aquifers, can be used to create fresh/potable water storages subsurface, where none existed previously.

So using the water bank principle actually helps lower the salinity levels of those existing resources.

These are very important issues that I have raised in terms of my electorate of Bendigo. I am delighted to hear the Prime Minister often say in this House that he is going to be very happy to run on his record in the forthcoming election. That pleases me greatly because his record in Bendigo and the surrounding district is appalling. There has been a four-year wait for the Calder Highway funding. There has been no announcement, when they said there would be an announcement for the pipeline funding by the end of last year. There is still no announcement; they are still blaming the state governments for delays. It took four years to get an MRI licence for the local public hospital. It seems that every major project that Bendigo has been able to win over the last four, five or six years has been won despite the government—we have had to drag the government kicking and screaming all the way. If Mr Howard is happy to run on his record, I am certainly more than happy to run on Mr Howard’s record in Bendigo—and I am sure we will be most successful.

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