Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Moore, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) United Nations World Water Day is 22 March, with the 2018 theme of 'Nature for Water' exploring how we can look to nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century,

(ii) currently, 2.1 billion people live without secure access to fresh drinkable water—agriculture accounts for 70% of global water usage, with industry consuming 20%, and domestic use of 10%; the proportion used for drinking water is less than 1%, and by 2050, the estimated growth in the human population of 2 billion will increase demand by 30%,

(iii) when we neglect our ecosystems, we make it harder to provide everyone with the water we need to survive and thrive; environmental damage, together with climate change, is driving global crises related to water;

(b) acknowledges that:

(i) Australia has a strong record with protecting and caring for our vital waterways and lakes, and

(ii) part of our pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG6 around Clean Water and Sanitation, is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030; and

(c) calls on the Australian Government to ensure Australia's water is protected for the future, through preserving precious areas of native forests, restoring river systems and wetlands and renewed action on climate change.

Question agreed to.