weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

23 Aug 2005 Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2621
In Europe it rains a lot. This lends itself to particular types of gardening and particular types of
agriculture that are absolutely and totally unsuitable in Australia. In this country we live in very arid
conditions. We have, by and large, poor soil and we are very poor when it comes to the quantities of
water available to us. That is why we need to conserve water in this country. This important piece of
legislation does just that. This bill helps to save water.
The Queensland government is working cooperatively with local councils to ensure that
Queensland has a workable legislative framework that facilitates this process. The bill provides greater
flexibility to local councils by allowing grey water use in garden irrigation.
I believe that the member for Hervey Bay was quite correct when he spoke earlier in this House
about people in this country not understanding the true value of water. I think it was Oscar Wilde who
defined a cynic as a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I think it is fair
to say that many Australians simply do not understand the true value of water. In this country, water is
scandalously undervalued.
The problem was identified quite adequately by the CSIRO. Its land and water unit explained that
Australia’s major water resources are in northern Australia and Tasmania, whereas most of our
agriculture and people are in south-eastern and mainland Australia. The CSIRO also estimates that the
largest consumption of water in this country is in the production of meat and wool. It believes that
production of a kilo of beef—and this is quite stunning—requires between 50,000 and 100,000 litres of
water, while production of a kilo of clean wool requires a staggering 170,000 litres of water. The figures
are even higher when one begins to factor in the amount of water that is lost through drainage and
the amount of water that is required for delivery.
Some of the crops grown in this country are major water users. The production of a kilo of wheat
uses between 715 and 750 litres of water. The production of a kilo of maize uses between 540 and 630
litres of water. Rice production uses far more—between 1,500 and 2,000 litres of water. Figures like
these necessitate a serious debate and re-examination of whether we are properly using our water
resources. I think these figures make it incredibly clear that we are not. The way in which Australians
use water, quite frankly, is nothing short of silly. We need to improve this and to do that we need to
educate people.
I want to speak very briefly about a resource I visited in Sydney. It is a joint initiative of the City of
Sydney and the Marrickville local councils. It is called the Watershed Sustainability Resource Centre. It
is an absolutely wonderful facility which is situated on King Street in Newtown. A watershed is a ridge or
crest line that divides two catchment areas. King Street, in fact, divides two catchment areas such that
the rain that drains to the north of King Street flows to Sydney Harbour while the rain that drains to the
south of King Street flows to Botany Bay. This area deals with some significant urban water issues and
because of the way in which the drainage works, stormwater pollution is a major challenge.
The reason this great resource was named the Watershed is that one meaning of ‘watershed’ is a
definitive change or a turning point. Those involved believe that this initiative should provide an
inspiration for positive action in the community and are working towards a sustainable future. They have
set up a shopfront that provides not only resources but also some wonderfully experienced staff to
advise on simple and cost-effective ideas that support sustainable ways of living and the sustainable
use of water.
One thing that struck me—and I did not fully understand it until I had visited the Watershed—is
the problems that can arise if local authorities do not appropriately regulate grey water use. After a lot of
rain, a very nasty situation can arise where the local area becomes, quite simply, waterlogged with the
type of water one does not necessarily want bubbling back up through the garden. That is why the
legislation now before us provides councils with an appropriate way of regulating grey water use in
Queensland.
I suggest that members who visit the City of Sydney web site should look at the Watershed
Sustainability Resource Centre. It is the sort of facility that local authorities throughout Queensland
should invest in. It is a wonderful initiative and one that I would love to see replicated throughout
Queensland. This is a wonderful piece of legislation and I am delighted to support it.
Ms CROFT (Broadwater—ALP) (6.19 pm): It is my pleasure this evening to rise to speak in
support of the Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2005. I know that
residents, particularly at my end of the Gold Coast, have been concerned for some time about our ability
to conserve water and the issue of drought on the Gold Coast. Mr Speaker, I know that, coming from
Mount Isa and the outback, you, like I, would have had instilled in you that you shower quickly, that you
do not waste any water and that if your grass is bone dry it does not matter as long as you do not waste
any water.
On the Gold Coast people try to keep their gardens green. They like to wash their cars to keep
them clean. Over the last couple of years we have had to adhere to very strict restrictions that were
enforced by the Gold Coast City Council. A number of people have come up to me during my mobile
office meet-and-greets asking about the possibility of introducing the use of grey water and how they
could use that to reduce their use of water and reduce the cost of their water use.