Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to address the issue of clean water challenges around Australia. In particular, we have two fundamental policies of importance here: clean rivers and clean coasts. I want to start on the issue of clean rivers by firstly addressing a problem confronting the Tamar River in Launceston. Last Thursday I had the honour and privilege of visiting the Tamar River, accompanied by Senator Eric Abetz. Importantly, we visited many locals who are concerned about the health of this important river. It is the main artery of Launceston; it is fundamental to and the life blood of this magnificent city. Yet people such as Alderman Graeme Beams, who is a member of the Launceston City Council, the mayor, who was in attendance, and many others, were greatly concerned about the fact that there was no funding of a mere $200,000 to oversee a study of the massive silting problem that is clogging this artery at the heart of Launceston.

It is time to ensure that the member for Bass does her duty and represents the people of Launceston in Canberra and not be Canberra’s lackey in Launceston. The clear message that came to me from Alderman Graeme Beams, from the mayor and from others was that this siltation study was fundamental to a long-term plan to clean out the problem of massive silting at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers.

We have a very strong history on this front. We promised the $200,000 in the lead-up to the last election. On the day, Senator Eric Abetz and I reaffirmed our commitment to the $200,000 for the future if the current government will not meet Launceston’s needs. Importantly, we also provided $3 million for bank stabilisation work including a hard edge for the northern bank of the North Esk, which runs into the Tamar. This work is underway and I witnessed it firsthand. I commend the people who have been commissioned to do the work by the Upper Tamar River Improvement Authority, UTRIA, and I commend the authority itself. I believe that this work is evidence of the practical initiatives that can be undertaken.

So the message is very clear: $200,000—approximately $6 per resident in Launceston—is all that is required to set in place a long-term plan for the clearing out of this terrible silt problem, which affects water quality, the viability of this river and the recreational quality of life for every Launceston resident. The message to the member for Bass is very clear: ‘Stand up for the people of Launceston and stop being a lackey for Canberra. Your task is clear as a member of the House of Representatives. You have to stand up for your own people.’

This brings me to the second water quality issue—that of Gunnamatta. At the south end of the Mornington Peninsula on the shores of St Andrews Beach we see a very clear problem. The Gunnamatta outfall, which the Victorian state government had promised to close over six years ago, continues to discharge 150 billion litres a year of class C water—420 million litres every day or 17 million litres an hour—which is hardly treated for any real purpose. It is dumped as waste water. This is a monumental waste of water and it is polluting our coast. It is symptomatic of a problem that is in evidence in the Labor states around Australia. It is a problem that we set out to fix, but the new federal government has turned a blind eye to it.

Our message is clear. The Clean Ocean Foundation was offered $1 million by the then Liberal-National government. That money has not been made good by the current government. They were to do a study of Australia’s 140 ocean outfalls. It is a very important task. It is a cheap way of doing it and it would be a wonderful project. I say to the new government: clean up the Tamar, do the silt study and allow this other group, the Clean Ocean Foundation, to put the pressure on state Labor governments around the country. We deserve clean coasts. The best example I have seen is in Kiama, and I commend both studies to the federal government. (Time expired)