Hawkesbury-Nepean River System Water Quality

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Speakers - Beamer Ms Diane; Allan Ms Pam
Business - Questions Without Notice

HAWKESBURY-NEPEAN RIVER SYSTEM WATER QUALITY

Mrs BEAMER: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for the Environment. What action is the Government taking to improve water quality in the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system?

Ms ALLAN: I would like to thank the honourable member for her work on behalf of her constituents to improve the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system and, in particular, South Creek, which runs through her electorate. Earlier today I had the pleasure of receiving from the Commissioner for Healthy Rivers the first comprehensive report on the state of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system and, more importantly, a set of recommendations on how to correct the problem.

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Mr Carr: What did your predecessor do about this problem?

Ms ALLAN: We will hear about that shortly. The Healthy Rivers Commission was established by this Government to assess the State’s river systems and to provide critical and independent advice on the actions needed to revitalise our rivers. This report represents an opportunity for the Government and the community to take control of what is a deteriorating river system. We know that the Deputy Leader of the National Party did not do very much about it this river system. This system is critical, not only to the health of people living in the region, but also to the multimillion dollar industries in the catchment which it supports. The system supplies more than 95 per cent of Sydney’s drinking water, which means that it is obviously important for the health of the Sydney region. The report by Dr Peter Crawford provides a frank assessment of the state of the river. It is not all doom and gloom. It puts the state of the river into a context outlining the achievements made to reduce pollution and the current plans of the Government to progress other improvements, such as the extension of the $60 million stormwater improvement program. At the same time the commissioner found something I have long suspected: there is no single manager of the river and effective management is hampered through lack of co-ordination and direction between government departments and agencies.

Mr O’Doherty: Where have you been?

Ms ALLAN: Where have you been? The Deputy Leader of the National Party and the honourable member for Gosford tried to fix the problem, but they failed. Dr Crawford did not discredit the former Government, even though, I must admit, I would have enjoyed that sort of reading. He produced a document which highlights the lack of co-ordination between government agencies responsible for the river, and also between local councils through whose areas the river runs - and there are many of them. The major findings, which come as no surprise, are that the river system is under significant pressure and that it requires management overhaul.

The river is suffering from various forms of pollution, such as urban runoff, stormwater, the impact of extractive and agricultural industries, and sewage pollution. In response, the recommendations deal with the impacts of urban development, improving water and river flow, establishing local government environmental management plans to protect the river, achieving sustainable agriculture, in which my colleague the Minister for Agriculture is very interested, addressing the impacts of extractive industries and establishing green buffers on river banks. The commission’s draft report provides the basis for further discussion on actions that must be implemented to improve the management of this important waterway.

The Government will give the community a direct opportunity to respond to the report before Cabinet considers the document early next year. I suggest to local members, particularly those whose electorates contain sections of the catchment of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river, that they encourage local people to comment on this document before January next year. The Government’s approach sharply contrasts with the approach of the former Government. Who could forget the blatant attempt by the honourable member for Wagga Wagga at censorship and suppression of public information. Is he listening now? I have his attention now.

Mr Schipp: What did I do wrong?

Ms ALLAN: Does the honourable member recall the time when he tried to censor the video on the state of the Hawkesbury-Nepean? It is like one of those clandestine videos circulating in the United States of America at the moment: river running out of time. The honourable member for Wagga Wagga was the Minister responsible for the Water Board, yet he tried to suppress the video, the video that gave the warts-and-all account of the Hawkesbury-Nepean river. He withheld it from the public.

Mr Schipp: You had 12 years to do it, but did nothing.

Ms ALLAN: Rest assured, I will be kind to the honourable member on his retirement. The Government has not only been honest in its release of information -

Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Manly will remain silent.

Ms ALLAN: The honourable member for Manly can be critical if he likes. I know that on occasions his concern does not stretch beyond the Harbour Bridge. This report has generated a great deal of interest in the Hawkesbury-Nepean area. In conclusion, following that process of broad consultation, the Government intends to seriously address the issues that are raised in this report.

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