Water Infrastructure and Services

Mr FRANK TERENZINI: My question is addressed to the Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Water. Can the Minister inform the House about how the Iemma Government's budget will strengthen the delivery of water infrastructure and services to the community?

Mr NATHAN REES: I commend the member for Maitland for his longstanding interest in this most important matter. This year's water budget is a record $2.1 billion. I am pleased to inform the House that it delivers on our election commitments in buckets.

Mr Chris Hartcher: In buckets?

Mr NATHAN REES: I thought that might have been too subtle! We are securing Sydney's water supplies for future generations through massive investments in recycling projects for industry, the environment and new residential housing projects, stormwater harvesting and water-saving projects under the Metropolitan Water Plan. We are building Sydney's desalination plant, which will provide 250 million litres of drinking water each day: 100 per cent renewable energy. That project is slightly ahead of schedule and under budget. We are investing $25 million in the first year on the construction and planning for Tillegra Dam—a project that will drought proof the Hunter and Central Coast for 60 years. Before the last State election in his press release dated 22 January 2007 about the Tillegra Dam the member for Terrigal said:

It would help them to drought proof the Central Coast within three years.

That is a ringing endorsement from just over 12 months ago. More recently, in April this year the member for Terrigal said:

We do not need Tillegra Dam.

The project is supported strongly by Dungog council because it will be an economic bonanza for the area: it will revitalise the town, bring in tourists and businesses, and guarantee the water supply for the Hunter and the Central Coast. More than $100 million will be invested in country water infrastructure, providing better services in our regional centres, country towns and rural villages. The country town's water supply scheme has had more than $1 billion invested in more than 340 projects benefiting to date more than one million people in rural and regional New South Wales. With this budget we are furthering this commitment with $52 million in funds for 2008-09. The President of the Shires Association of New South Wales, councillor and Mayor of Cowra , Bruce Miller, has welcomed this decision. He said:

Many rural and regional communities depend on this funding to maintain their local infrastructure, so we welcome the Government's ongoing commitment.

This scheme will fund major water projects in the Manning District, in which the members for Myall Lakes and Port Macquarie might be interested, and also in the Clarence and Coffs Harbour regions. Further to the Premier's remarks, I advise that we are augmenting emergency services in Coffs Harbour with 16 additional firefighters and $600,000 worth of works to the fire station in recognition of the Premier's efforts. The Eurobodalla shire will benefit from the scheme. Bonalbo, which is in the member for Lismore's area, Bega Valley, Scone, Aberdeen, Urbenville and Woodenbong also are locations to benefit from the Treasurer's budget.

We are funding major sewerage schemes for Currarong on the South Coast, Clarence Town in the Upper Hunter, Tullamore and Trundle at Dubbo, Taralga in the member for Goulburn's electorate and Manildra in the Orange electorate. I could go on and provide other examples. For State water we are spending more than $11 million to upgrade seven major dams to better protect communities downstream in major floods. They are the Blowering Dam near Tumut, the Burrendong Dam near Wellington, the Copeton Dam near Inverell, the Chaffey Dam near Tamworth, the Keepit Dam near Gunnedah, the Split Rock Dam near Manilla and the Wyangala Dam near Cowra.

In Sydney's water catchment area, major upgrade projects are underway to improve our dams and environmental performance. The Government has invested nearly a quarter of a billion dollars over the past decade in the Warragamba Dam, including an upgrade of the entire electrical lighting and communications system and the provision of a new visitor facility, new accommodation for 50 operational staff, an incident room, and an operational control room. The Government is also spending $6.5 million this year on the Cataract, Cordeaux, and Nepean dams as well as local weirs to allow the release of environmental flows. That work is due for completion in 2009.

Through Sydney Water the Government will invest a massive $1.9 billion in this year's budget—its biggest-ever capital expenditure program—by investing in recycling, stormwater harvesting, water saving projects and desalination to drought proof Sydney for the next half a century. We already have Australia's largest recycling projects and we will continue to invest in recycling with a target of 70 billion litres of recycled water a year by 2015.

The Government's huge investments in water infrastructure deliver on commitments to secure the State's water supplies for the future. Investment in vital regional and rural water infrastructure will safeguard key water services to local communities and industry while better protecting communities in times of flood. Our investment in vital urban water infrastructure will secure our future at a time of growing population, climate change and increasingly variable rainfall.