Metropolitan Water Plan Implementation

Mr NINOS KHOSHABA: My question is directed to be Minister for Water Utilities. What is the latest information on the Government's implementation of the Metropolitan Water Plan?

Mr NATHAN REES: I thank the member for his interest in this most important matter. We not only share a passion for the Eels but also borders on the Prospect Reservoir. We know that good policy is informed by a sound evidence base and we know that a good government continues to refine its policy frameworks as new research and evidence comes to light. A good government develops long-term policies that set our State and its $300 billion economy up for the long term. A good government, like that led by Premier Iemma, makes the tough decisions, knowing that those decisions will allow us to build a stronger, more prosperous future. With regard to evidence and research, Australia's pre-eminent scientific research body, the CSIRO, has told us that we are heading to a period of more hot days, less rainfall and more frequent droughts. More recently, the head of the weather bureau's climate change centre, Michael Coughlan, said:

Australia is up there with much of the rest of the world and perhaps even ahead of the rest of the world in terms of the rate at which the temperature is rising.

Record warm temperatures, of course, exacerbate the dry conditions.

In addition, we know that Sydney will continue to grow, with as many as a million people coming over the next quarter of a century. In the light of these predictions from the foremost scientific experts in Australia, a "business as usual" approach would be a gross dereliction of duty for any government. That is why the Iemma Government has developed a comprehensive plan.

Mr Chris Hartcher: This is great rhetoric.

Mr NATHAN REES: I will come to rhetoric shortly. That is why the Iemma Government has developed a comprehensive plan to drought proof Sydney for the longer term, the Metropolitan Water Plan, delivering 25 per cent more water for the people of Sydney over the next 25 years and delivering against our State Plan priority. That plan includes the three biggest recycling schemes in Australia—Bluescope Steel in the Illawarra, at Rouse Hill in Sydney's north-west and the $250 million Western Sydney recycling project that will restore the Hawkesbury-Nepean River to good health and provide water for industry and agriculture.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Hawkesbury to order for the third time.

Mr NATHAN REES: We also have the successful rainwater tank scheme, with 40,000 rebates now being taken up, and 70 stormwater harvesting projects across Sydney and the Central Coast.

Mr Chris Hartcher: We have heard all this before.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Terrigal to order.

Mr NATHAN REES: And you are going to hear it again.

[Interruption]

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Terrigal to order for the second time.

Mr NATHAN REES: We have taken the sensible decision to implement long-term water saving rules that will save us about 3 per cent in volume each year when the current drought eases. Finally, we have commenced the desalination plant construction and we will be able to provide an additional 14 per cent of supply for Sydney, scalable up to 28 per cent. The Iemma Government's plan for securing Sydney's water supply relies on a range of measures, and that is what makes it the most robust, reliable and comprehensive water supply plan of any Australian capital city. The Metropolitan Water Plan is the cornerstone of the Government's long-term water plans for the Sydney Basin. But, a good government, a responsible government, must deliver its plans and put that delivery up for scrutiny. I can inform the House that the delivery of the Metropolitan Water Plan has been given a big tick by the toughest of markets.

Today I am releasing the official progress report on the Metropolitan Water Plan, a report card on the Iemma Government's water plan. The progress report has been reviewed and endorsed by a panel of independent experts headed by Professor Peter Cullen, a commissioner of the National Water Commission and member of the Wentworth group of scientists and an emeritus professor at the University of Canberra, and comprising Professor John Langford, former executive director of the Water Services Association of Australia, a professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne and director of the Melbourne Water Research Centre; Dr Ronnie Harding, Chair of the New South Wales Council on Environmental Education, and an expert in the field of environmental management; Mr Chris Davies, the chief executive officer of the Australian Water Association and Australia's representative to the World Water Forum; Mr Ross Chapman, an economist formerly with the Centre for International Economics; and Blair Nancarrow, an expert in social research and the director of the Australian Research Centre for Water in Society at the CSIRO. The independent review panel has found:

progress with implementing the Sydney Metropolitan Water Plan is on track and [the panel] remains confident that the diverse range of measures contained in the planned provides a robust approach to securing Sydney's water supply.

That is from the experts. Since the plan was released, 31 plan actions have been completed with 44 well on their way to completion.

[Interruption]

It is more expert than what is on the member for Coffs Harbour's website, which I had a look at earlier this week. All of this is welcome news.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Coffs Harbour should not encourage the Minister.

Mr NATHAN REES: Go to the website and look for the Opposition policy. It says, "You must log in", so a member of the public cannot find it. All of this is welcome news and confirmation that the Government's policy framework is the right one. But the most telling comment of the independent review panel relates to the Iemma Government's decision to proceed with building the desalination plant. Last week I debated the Leader of the Opposition on Stateline.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Wakehurst to order.

Mr NATHAN REES: I told the House that three times during the course of that debate I challenged the Leader of the Opposition to outline his water plan and he dogged it, nothing, zip. In contrast the progress report states of our plan:

Implementation of the [Government's] Metropolitan Water Plan has ensured that Sydney's 4.2 million people, and its businesses, have secure water supplies even during extreme drought.

The Metropolitan Water Plan secures Sydney's water needs in the face of a growing population and will be adapted to reflect updated forecasts on population growth.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will remain silent.

Mr NATHAN REES: The Iemma Government is making the tough decisions now. We are building the infrastructure now. We are securing our most precious resource, water, for a generation to come.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Mr NATHAN REES: This plan has been given a tick by the best water brains in the country.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Coffs Harbour will remain silent.

Mr NATHAN REES: Dam levels reached 32 per cent earlier this year. They would have been lower if we had not been pumping water from the Shoalhaven and had water restrictions in place. Some have said we should have delayed construction of the desalination plant until we hit 30 per cent.

Mr Andrew Fraser: You said it.

Mr NATHAN REES: And I reserve the right to change it in the face of expert advice. Here is what the expert advice says.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Coffs Harbour will stop defending the Premier.

Mr NATHAN REES: It said:

The panel urged commencing the desalination option a little earlier than the trigger point set out in the Metropolitan Water Plan, because of concerns about potential delays in building the desalination plant given the number of desalination plants under construction around the world The Panel believes that the desalination plant provides an important augmentation to the water supply that is not rainfall dependent

There you have it. The Opposition would stop the desalination plant against all the expert advice and against the advice of its own Federal Treasurer, who on Friday—inconvenient timing—said:

I think we should have a desalination plant for every capital city in Australia I think it's something that Australia will have to embrace.

I have a confession. On Monday this week I had a meeting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Coffs Harbour to order for the second time. Confessions are within the standing orders.

Mr NATHAN REES: Earlier this week I neglected to mention another luminary who is becoming involved in the water debate, someone who has realised the sense in desalination and someone who may well be familiar to members opposite. On Monday this week I received a detailed briefing from a group wanting to build more desalination plants in Australia—and who briefed me? The Hon. Nick Greiner briefed me personally. The Leader of the Opposition should give up on this one. He should just surrender, as indeed he wants to. He should do as his Treasurer asks and embrace desalination. It is crystal clear: the dogs are barking that the caravan has moved on. It is time to send in the clowns.