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23 Aug 2005 Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2615 to attempt to redress the loss of water or at least the usage of water at current levels. The second point that we should be considering, too, of course is ongoing education of the public in relation to the importance of water—not just the public as adults but at school as well. In many other areas we have used education as a tool to enlighten the public as to the need to address a matter or the need to change an attitude, and I would urge the government to take on board the educational needs regarding water in the years to come. Desalination plants have often appeared in the public arena to be the saving grace of water consumption. We all know that desalination plants are exceptionally expensive but, of course, as time goes by it may well be that such plants will become economically viable. It may even be the case that as time goes by they will become the favoured option for greater water storage and consumption. In addition, we need to consider the construction of weirs and dams. I also acknowledge that the government is looking hard at all issues in relation to water consumption, water retention and the use of water in years to come. Might I say that water and sewerage will continue to be possibly the major infrastructure issues facing this state in the years to come. From those two items flow a lot of our residential, commercial and industrial development. In fact, without water and sewerage we could grind to a halt. Recently I attended a seminar at which a real estate agent highlighted the needs of the Sunshine Coast. He pointed out that the two major infrastructure items that need to be addressed are water and sewerage. So although I certainly applaud the government for the contents of the bill, I also add a word of caution that there is a very long road ahead. The bill starts the process, but it will be a difficult road. I commend the bill to the House. Mr ENGLISH (Redlands—ALP) (5.30 pm): Water is a finite resource. In 2005, that is not an overly earth-shattering statement to make. However, the road that has brought us to this point has been long and arduous. Historically, we have not thought about water as a finite resource. Our treatment of water reflects that. Historically, water has been utilised very, very poorly. This legislation is certainly no magic wand, but it is a movement towards improving our awareness and utilisation of water. This bill is designed to allow local governments to approve and authorise the use of grey water in sewered areas. I certainly commend the minister for bringing the bill before the House. It is amazing that it has taken us this long to come to the realisation that water is too valuable, too important to our society, just to flush down the drain. At home we regularly do our washing and water that has only washed some dirty clothes is pumped down the drain. That water can be recycled and used again for watering lawns and for other uses. The member for Glass House referred to a company called Biolytix. Biolytix is installing a number of their plants as part of a trial that is being undertaken on Macleay Island, which is located in my electorate. Water is being pumped from a number of houses, treated and then used to water the golf course on Macleay Island. I certainly recommend the Macleay Island golf course to any member of the House who wants to go across to the island and have a hit. This trial recognises that water is too good to waste. It is a valuable resource, and this government is taking steps towards improving the situation. Yes, councils need to take greater responsibility. I would like to congratulate the Brisbane City Council on its rainwater tank rebate scheme. Many residents in my electorate ask me whether the Redland Shire Council will offer a rebate on rainwater tanks. I certainly encourage the Redland Shire Council to consider that. Historically, the Redland Shire Council has had a very, very poor attitude towards water. It has a great supply of water at Stradbroke Island. That has led to an attitude that water is in infinite supply—we have this big resource sitting under Stradbroke Island. Unfortunately, that is not correct. The Redland Shire Council is now coming on board in that it understands the finite nature of this resource on Stradbroke Island. Again, I congratulate the minister and honourable members on supporting this bill, which really highlights to people the value of this great resource. Mr O’BRIEN (Cook—ALP) (5.34 pm): I want to briefly put on the public record my support for this legislation. I congratulate the Minister for Environment, Local Government, Planning and Women on having the good sense to bring this legislation into the House. I think it is good legislation that will assist those of my constituents who live in the more urban parts of my electorate such as Port Douglas, Mossman and particularly a small part of the greater city of Cairns. Like me and like the member for Barron River, the minister, as member for Cairns, would have heard the calls by the Mayor of Cairns, Kevin Byrne, to build another dam. He is constantly harping at us to build another dam when the current one is full. I think legislation such as this which is before the House will prevent or put back the need for us to build a dam in far-north Queensland. We need to put in place strategies to defer the need to construct that sort of infrastructure—not just because it is expensive to build but also because of the damage that it causes to the natural environment and the downstream effect it has on the fishing industry. I also want to take the time to congratulate the member for Barron River who, on behalf of the four Labor members of far-north Queensland, has taken up the debate in the local area. She has been persistent in calling for a least-cost planning study to reduce the demand for water and making the council look at its practices to reduce the amount of water that is used, such as reducing the pressure in its water systems so that there is less spillage.
2616 Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 23 Aug 2005 Ms Nelson-Carr: A very good local member. Mr O’BRIEN: She is a very good local member. I know that the member for Barron River is eager to speak to this bill today because in far-north Queensland she has been leading the debate on putting in a Smart State strategy to reduce the need for this massive infrastructure, which has detrimental effects. She knows—and I support her in this—that by being smart, such as by introducing legislation such as this, and through other measures we can reduce the need to install damaging infrastructure like dams. With those few words, I commend the bill to the House. Mr WALLACE (Thuringowa—ALP) (5.37 pm): Like my colleague the member for Cook, I will keep my comments brief because this is a commonsense bill introduced by a commonsense government. As the previous speaker mentioned, this bill makes a lot of sense. I know that we are all suffering from one of the greatest droughts in our state’s history. We have to think of the future, and this bill will go a long way towards helping households contribute in some small way to water conservation. I congratulate the Minister for Environment, Local Government, Planning and Women on bringing this legislation before the House. In her short term so far as the minister she certainly has done very well. Many local governments across Queensland that I speak to sing Desley’s praises. She should be congratulated. Mr O’Brien: Hear, hear! Mr WALLACE: I take that injection from the member for Cook. He, too, knows the wonderful work that the member for Cairns is doing in her portfolio. I also thank the minister for her interest in some grey water matters in the Thuringowa-Townsville area and my plan to pipe treated sewage, which is currently flowing into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, to Queensland Nickel so that water can be used in its processing plant. That will reduce Queensland Nickel’s reliance on the underground water supply in the Black River catchment, which in turn will assist the many residents in the area who wish to sink bores. On behalf of the residents of that area, I thank the minister for her help in getting that project up, which will hopefully be running in the coming year. I have seen grey water in action. When I was a kid I remember Dad leading the hose from the washing machine out to his vegie gardens. When I was a kid at Home Hill we lived in an unsewered area. Dad always had A1 vegetables. Maybe it was the grey water that he used to water the beans, the peas and the pumpkins that we ate when we were kids. They were A-grade produce. When I was a kid I also remember being encouraged to have a pee under the bush lemon tree in the morning because it was considered quite good for the bush lemon tree. Mr Choi interjected. Mr WALLACE: It still does. I take the member for Capalaba’s interjection. Being Chinese, he has a very green thumb. I have eaten some of the produce in China which I am sure has been fertilised in a similar manner. Turning back to the bill before us, I again reinforce that it is a sensible reuse of our resources. Water is becoming more and more precious. I take the member for Cook’s point about no more dams in far-north Queensland. I can heartily agree that it is a beautiful part of the world. We might take his expenditure, though, on stage 2 of the Burdekin Dam at some stage in the future, if that is all right with him. This bill gives local governments the ability to play a role in this process, to have a look at individual applications and refuse them where they are not suitable. There are types of ground clay soils where this would not be suitable, but I know that there are many types of soil in the Thuringowa area where the reuse of grey water would be not only useful but also desirable. With those few words, I commend the bill to the House. I again commend the minister and urge my fellow members to support the bill wholeheartedly. Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (5.40 pm): I rise to support the Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment and, in doing so, I will probably echo a lot of the comments that have already been made. In rural and regional Queensland the use of grey water in unsewered areas has been beneficial. The previous speaker talked about using it on gardens around the home, on both vegetable gardens and ornamental gardens. Providing people are conscious of what they use in their systems, particularly ensuring that for their washing they use non-phosphate detergents and other protective mechanisms, there is no reason why there should be a problem with any build-up of any unwanted residues in the garden. I do not think there would be too many towns in Queensland that have not been affected by drought over the last 10 years. We have quite a significant dam structure which has recently been augmented. Just before Christmas 2003 there were first-tier restrictions on industry, and they were looking at second-tier restrictions, which would mean 50 per cent restrictions on water allocation. It was quite a significant impost on those companies. Many of them had been forced to look at water alternatives. One of the benefits was that QAL negotiated with the Gladstone City Council to use its treated effluent through the industrial process, and that is a long-term benefit to the Gladstone city area. Calliope shire has recycled its treated water for many years and has particularly used it as irrigation on
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PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 WEEKLY HANSARD
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Table of Contents — Tuesday, 23 A
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2536 Papers 23 Aug 2005 PAPERS PAPE
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2538 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2
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2550 Scrutiny of Legislation Commit
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Page 33 and 34: 2564 Members’ Ethics and Parliame
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Page 51 and 52: 2582 Housing Legislation Amendment
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Page 55 and 56: 2586 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 57 and 58: 2588 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 59 and 60: 2590 Queensland Competition Authori
Page 69 and 70: 2600 Racing Venues Development Amen
Page 81 and 82: 2612 Plumbing and Drainage and Othe
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Page 99 and 100: 2630 Child Safety Legislation Amend
Page 111 and 112: 2642 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 One pa
Page 113 and 114: 2644 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 years.
Page 115: 2646 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 Finall
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