Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that protection, Mr Acting Deputy President. I certainly need it. What I have done in those four months is travel widely across Australia, meeting with communities who are all interested in the future of our water supplies and the best ways in which we can manage them. I have been particularly struck by the adaptability of these communities on the back of prolonged drought and many are now facing extraordinary flooding. That is the ancient cycle in Australia—drought, flood, drought, flood—but I continue to be amazed by the extremes we encounter in Australia and the likelihood that those extremes might increase over the years ahead.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those people in Queensland who have suffered the worst flooding in living memory and also those in Victoria, New South Wales and other areas who have been hit by floods. We extend our sympathies also to those who have felt the catastrophic impact of tropical Cyclone Yasi. Now the residents of Perth, who have experienced record dry weather, were dealt another blow over the weekend with devastating bushfires.

This dramatic variability emphasises the importance of the commitment of the Gillard government to a sustainable Australia. It reinforces our commitment to invest significant funds in a range of alternative water supplies such as desalination, water recycling, stormwater harvesting and reuse, and other water efficiency projects. Diversifying our water sources enables communities to manage water supplies across the wide range of weather and climatic events that Australia experiences. While much of the eastern part of the country has been suffering from floods, history has taught us that droughts will return.

The recent investment of the Gillard government in alternative water sources will save or supply significant volumes of water and will help us be better prepared to get through the next drought. We are working closely with local and state government partners who are responding to the demands of urban development and growing population. We are supporting projects that will use treated stormwater in major cities across Australia and regions such as Dubbo. Since I took on the role of parliamentary secretary, I have launched stormwater-harvesting projects worth $7.6 million—$4.5 million being for the Dubbo City Council stormwater-harvesting and reuse project under the $904 million National Urban Water and Desalination Plan. The Dubbo project will capture, treat and distribute about 42 million litres of stormwater each year to be used on the Apex Oval in the town and in the East Dubbo Sporting Complex. I went up there with a person whom I think you might know, Mr Acting Deputy President, Mayor Allan Smith, a very good mayor of Dubbo and a very fine fellow.

In October, I announced $3.1 million in funding for five stormwater-harvesting schemes to be constructed in the city of Hobsons Bay in Victoria. Looking forward, the Australian government’s stormwater-harvesting grants program will soon open for its $100 million third round, as committed by the government in the 2010 election. Underpinning the investments is the establishment of the national centres of excellence in desalination and water recycling and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. These centres are bringing together national and international researchers to address the complexity of securing urban water supplies in a practical way.

In December I announced the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination’s second round of funding. Through the second round the centre is providing nearly $3 million in funding for research projects investing in ways to advance desalination technology. One of those projects—and I am sure Senator Bernardi will be interested in this—is being conducted by researchers at Flinders University in his home state of South Australia, which is also my home state. And a great state it is, isn’t it, Senator Bernardi?