Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Faulkner, the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Water. The Salisbury council in South Australia is a national and world leader in stormwater harvesting, with the architect of their scheme, Colin Pitman, estimating that, if the existing local scheme is expanded, some 80 gigalitres of Adelaide’s stormwater can be harvested at an infrastructure cost of some $350 million, about one quarter of the cost of Adelaide’s proposed 50-gigalitre desalination plant. Does the minister agree that stormwater harvesting is a much cheaper and much less energy intensive method of delivering clean water than a desalination plant?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Xenophon for his question on this important issue. At the heart of the government’s approach to water policy is the recognition that climate change means reduced rainfall. The $12.9 billion Water for the Future plan, the $1 billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan and the $250 million National Water Security Plan for Towns and Cities will help secure new water supplies for households and businesses. I am advised that the $250 million National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative will also deliver on the key priority of using water wisely. These programs will help deal with the impacts of climate change and reduce our reliance on rainfall.

I am advised that several specific stormwater harvesting projects are underway in Adelaide, receiving almost $53 million in Commonwealth funding. They include Waterproofing Northern Adelaide, Waterproofing the South and the metropolitan major irrigators stormwater reuse project. I understand that these projects also involve water-recycling activities. Combined, these projects have the capacity to harvest up to 17 gigalitres of stormwater per year and they will be operating by 2011.

The federal government has also committed $6.55 million in funding for the Salisbury stormwater harvesting project under the National Water Security Plan for Towns and Cities. That project will have the capacity to harvest up to 6.3 gigalitres. That project will be operating, I understand, by 2012. As part of the $1 billion fund, we are establishing a $20 million Centre of Excellence in Water Recycling. I think that is to be sited in Brisbane. The centre of excellence will enhance Australia’s research and development capacity in recycling and stormwater.

Under the Raising National Water Standards Program, there is an $800,000 project underway to help decision makers assess the suitability and viability of the aquifer storage and recharge. The federal government, along with state and territory governments, has released water-recycling guidelines so that project planners can match water quality to intended uses in the safest and most cost-effective manner. In terms of the important issue of cost benefits of desalination versus stormwater, the advice I have received is that the cost benefits of different technologies vary on a project-to-project basis. In other words, while recycling might be a good option for one city, it might not work for others. I understand that the situation is the same for desalination and stormwater. (Time expired)

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Does the minister agree that $250 million for rainwater recycling nationally is not adequate given the highly cost-effective potential of stormwater harvesting and the urgency of Adelaide weaning itself off reliance on the Murray River?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Xenophon for his supplementary question. I can say to Senator Xenophon that Water for the Future has a key focus on securing new water supplies for cities and towns, as I said, in the context of climate change. This of course requires diversifying our water supplies, with stormwater, recycling and desalination all playing an important role.

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you going to wean Adelaide off the Murray?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is important to note that desalination is the only option that is entirely rainfall independent, as I am sure Senator Fisher would accept.

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you going to wean Adelaide off the Murray?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the case of Adelaide in particular, it is clear that recycling, stormwater harvesting and desalination all have a role to play in securing— (Time expired)