Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to place before the chamber my strong, clear and unequivocal view that it is time to close the Gunnamatta Outfall at the base of the Mornington Peninsula and to commence works to do so now. I want to speak about this in three phases: first, to speak about the problem; secondly, to speak about the solution; and, thirdly, to speak about an impediment to that solution. The problem is very clear—it is well known to this House and it is well known to the people of the Mornington Peninsula. The Gunnamatta Outfall discharges water from the south-eastern treatment plant. All up, it discharges  about 42 per cent of Melbourne’s total sewage effluent. Firstly, there is a problem of quality and, secondly, there is a problem of quantity. To outline it very simply, the quality of the water which is discharged there is secondary treated or class C water. This has a series of impacts. Firstly, it is water of low quality which has an impact on the marine environment. Secondly, the volume, which is so great—approximately 150 billion litres a year, 420 million litres a day or 17 million litres an hour—represents an extraordinary impact on the marine environment, an extraordinary risk to the surfing community at the magnificent Gunnamatta beach, one of the great surf beaches in Australia, and an extraordinary waste of recyclable water.

Given all of those elements, it is fundamental that this water be cleaned up, recycled and used for industry and agriculture. In turn, this will take pressure off Victoria’s freshwater supplies. Rather than using drinking water for industrial and agricultural purposes, we must use the most appropriate quality of water for the most appropriate use. As a representative of a rural area, Mr Deputy Speaker Secker, I am sure this would be an issue of importance to you. That very principle was laid down by Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago about the appropriate quality of water for the appropriate quality use.

Having defined that problem, the solution is clear and has been clear for a considerable time now. In 2002, the Victorian government, through the agency of Melbourne Water, made an ironclad commitment to upgrade the Gunnamatta Outfall, to increase the level of treatment to the highest level—tertiary treatment—and, in turn, to use that as the basis for recycling water for industry, agriculture, parks and gardens. Five and a half years later, this has not happened. The result is simple: during the worst drought in Victoria’s history, as far as records are concerned, we have seen over 750 billion litres of water wasted—almost half the volume of our largest dam, the Thomson Dam. This water could have been recycled, should have been recycled and should be recycled for industry and agriculture in the future.

Having said that, there is a proposal on the table from the state to upgrade the treatment plant but not to close down the outfall. I welcome that proposal. However—and here I come to my third point—the concern that I have is information provided to me by the extremely professional, extremely well-organised and highly reputable Clean Ocean Foundation. They have said that they have real concerns that the funding for this upgrade has not been pledged and that there is some doubt as to whether the upgrade will occur. We need immediate clarity on two elements: firstly, that the upgrade will proceed—the new Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, must confirm that this upgrade will proceed—and, secondly, that funding will be allocated now so that the upgrade can proceed. Gunnamatta Outfall must be closed. It is a disgrace to dump that volume of water on the environment and it is a disgrace to waste it. (Time expired)