PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'm here with my friend and colleague Ken Ticehurst the Member for Dobell, and I acknowledge Councillor Bob Graham, the Mayor and other distinguished guests, to announce a contribution by the Federal Government of $2.6 million towards the $16 million harvesting project of stormwater for the benefit of the Porters Creek Wetlands by the Wyong Shire Council.
This will be the eighth project in New South Wales funded by the Federal Government under a component of its $2 billion national water fund. This is a project put to the Federal Government with Ken's very enthusiastic backing in order to harvest stormwater and bring it into this dam, to make sure that the natural rhythm and cycles of the wetlands were not disturbed. It will be environmentally beneficial for that reason, and it will also make a contribution towards tackling the chronic water shortage problems of the Central Coast of New South Wales.
It was only a few months ago that the Federal Government announced out of the same fund the contribution of another $6 million for another project on the Central Coast. It is designed to tackle the water shortage problems of this part of Australia. This $2 billion fund is designed to provide practical targeted assistance to individual projects all around the country.
Many people think that there is a big bang, or silver bullet solution to the water problems of Australia. There isn't really. The way you fix water problems is to look at the challenges of individual communities and address them in a practical, cooperative way. And we had a request from the local council, and we've provided $2.6 million and it's something like 5.4 gigalitres of water will be saved as a result of this project; now that's making a big contribution. And every area is different, the river systems are different, the wetlands are different and a different solution is involved in each area.
For my own part, I believe generally speaking, that recycling is essential. I said that in the wake of the debate in Queensland and I repeat it here today, that recycling of water in many parts of Australia, using different approaches, but operating on the principle that a lot of water can be recycled, that we should harvest stormwater, that they represent the practical ways of tackling the water shortage problem.
I hope that this project is successful. I am sure it will be. It has the, not only the blessing of the Federal Government, but courtesy of the energy of Ken Ticehurst the local member, it's got 2.6 million federal dollars as part of it and I hope that will make a contribution. It's a beautiful day to be on the Central Coast and nice to see you all. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, should the question of recycling be put to people here as it was in Toowoomba?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I don't think so. I think everybody will support this project.
JOURNALIST:
What about incentives?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well $2.6 million is a very big incentive.
JOURNALIST:
There's been a lot of talk about water tanks and how more people should have them, that would make a big difference. Could the Federal Government offer....
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I suppose the Federal Government, you know, how long is a piece of string? I think the question you've got to ask yourself is the Federal Government, given that water supply is overwhelmingly regulated by states and local governments, are we making a fair and reasonable contribution. When you look at the size of the water fund, the answer is overwhelmingly yes.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, will the Government be watching this project to see how it might be used in other areas?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I think the national water fund, the part of the Government that looks after this; yes. To give you an example, I was in Western Australia a few months ago and I, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, we dedicated or contributed about the same amount of money to a project run by the Cottesloe City Council, and it was for renewing some aquifers and capturing some stormwater. About the same amount of money, similar principle. The local council worked out a practical way of saving water, came to us, we had a look at it and we gave them money. Now that is the approach we have. We don't try and impose a one size fits all solution because the country's very big and it's very different. But there are some consistencies and one of those consistencies, of course, is the value of recycled water.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, do you have a position on mobile desalination plants, could that funding support its use?
PRIME MINISTER:
I've heard about those, yes. Well that's a decision of the local council. I'm not offering any criticism of that. The local council's made a decision to do that. I do think one of the advantages of recycling is it doesn't have the same, potentially, negative effect on the environment.
[ends]