weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

2618 Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 23 Aug 2005
that will operate in Townsville to process water for a far more constructive industrial use without using
potable water. As a collective community, we have to confront whether it is better to use on-site systems
for some other purpose, as opposed to bringing all of the water into a general processing arrangement.
That is the fundamental threshold question that councils must consider when deciding if they should
engage in widespread licensing and allow those systems to be promulgated.
I think the member for Gladstone also touched upon the issue of whether backyard systems will
be cost effective and, indeed, environmentally effective. On the face of it, this does have great merit, but
a fundamental evaluation has to take place. It is important to consider this issue in terms of our overall
resources if, as a community, we have spent a large amount of resources on piping and other devices
that might be required, such as aeration and filtration mechanisms, as well as the resources required to
dig out relevant pits and so on, but then in the end that water simply drains into the ground. Perhaps it
would be better to spend X-amount on the installation of that sort of equipment in, say, 100 houses. The
water from those houses might be processed far more economically in one unit, even if it was
specifically for the use of only those 100 houses, or indeed at the sewerage and water outlet for the
entire city. That is an important calculation and it has to be made for the entire system if we are to use a
lot of scarce resources on this—resources such as PVC pipe and so on. That is an important calculation
that will have to be made by councils for the entire system.
Indeed, we need to know whether the water will be used effectively and, again, that comes down
to the economic and social calculations of the entire process. Will the water be used effectively in the
backyard? Will it drain directly into the ground? Perhaps it will. Perhaps also, it will have some
interchange with ground water systems and water systems that are useable and pure, such as potable
water. Indeed, I suspect that the sorts of systems we are talking about will not be readily used for
growing cabbages and lettuces in our backyards, as much as we would like them to be. Those systems
will require deep subsurface irrigation. As such, the only root systems that I would expect would be able
to have contact with those systems are certain varieties of trees and vegetation that would be properly
set in place and grown in order to survive the environment where those drainage areas occur and where
those trees could properly be promulgated and thus grow good produce. It would be delightful to think
that where the systems are put in place we will be able to grow some decent mandarins and even some
of the lemons that the member for Thuringowa might assist with. These are important considerations. If
we can see good produce and good outcomes from the backyard systems, that becomes part of the
social and economic equation that councils will have to confront when considering whether the systems
are appropriate and viable.
Important technology has to be applied to ensure that the systems work well. I have great faith in
councils’ ability to properly evaluate those technologies. I say that because when we are talking about
grey water we are not talking about materials that we can treat lightly. Scientists and experts who have
knowledge in this area have advised me that grey water can be quite a dangerous substance because
of the human skin that may be contained in grey water outlets. In conjunction with other soaps and
substances that are contained in those outlets, that can be a very lethal substance. We have to ensure
that public safety is paramount. Comments have already been made about residential areas with small
blocks. In such cases we would have to make sure that neighbouring premises are not affected,
especially where drainage might be affected by slopes et cetera. Those are real concerns that councils
will have to confront.
This is a great initiative for Queensland. However, there will be a great deal of variation in the way
that it might be adapted and dealt with throughout Queensland, that is, from council to council. Each
council will have to confront its own communities and, indeed, will have to confront different issues. For
example, new estates might be the subject of installation as opposed to existing premises that may
require retrofitting to bring the systems online. Therefore, it is important that the new systems have
integrity. The councils will bear a great deal of responsibility for making sure not only that the individual
systems have integrity but also, most importantly, that the venture as a whole has environmental and
cost integrity in terms of conserving Queensland’s very scarce water resources. I commend the bill to
the House.
Mr PEARCE (Fitzroy—ALP) (5.58 pm): I am pleased to support this legislation, which will amend
the investigative and disciplinary powers of the Plumbers and Drainers Board, as well as clear the path
for the use of grey water. While I acknowledge the importance of changes relevant to the Plumbers and
Drainers Board, I intend to focus on the legislation with regard to its impact on grey water.
We have all been guilty of taking water for granted. This is a worrying trend given the
preciousness of the resource and the fact that we live on the driest continent on earth. It is
heartbreaking to drive around communities and see flooded lawns, water running down the gutters and
hoses left on as people wash their cars on their driveways. We hear of people taking long showers and
taps running and not being fixed. It is heartbreaking to see that happen. As a representative of the bush,
I have seen how hard the current drought has hit and the toll it has taken on those who make their living
from the land, their families and the local communities. I am sure, Mr Speaker, you would have seen that
in the electorate of Mount Isa as well.