❓ Opposition questions the Water Minister's previous claims of drought-proofing Perth, given recent concerns raised by the Water Corporation CEO regarding water supply vulnerability. The Minister defends the government's investments in climate-independent water sources and emphasizes the importance of demand management.
AnsweredQoN 884Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER —
PERTH AND INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM — DROUGHTPROOFING — MINISTER'S
CLAIM
884. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Water:
I refer the minister to comments made yesterday by the chief
executive officer of the Water Corporation, Sue Murphy, that this year's
low run-off into Perth's dams and warmer-than-average weather
constituted a perfect storm that had left the scheme supply system vulnerable
and could result in new tougher water restrictions and the fast-tracking of
capital works programs.
(1) Does the
minister now regret boasting only a few months ago that the government had
droughtproofed Perth?
(2) Does the
minister now acknowledge that her comments were both factually wrong and sent
the wrong message to water consumers?
PERTH AND INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM — DROUGHTPROOFING — MINISTER'S
CLAIM
884. Mr D.J. KELLY to the
Minister for Water:
I refer the minister to comments made yesterday by the chief
executive officer of the Water Corporation, Sue Murphy, that this year's
low run-off into Perth's dams and warmer-than-average weather
constituted a perfect storm that had left the scheme supply system vulnerable
and could result in new tougher water restrictions and the fast-tracking of
capital works programs.
(1) Does the
minister now regret boasting only a few months ago that the government had
droughtproofed Perth?
(2) Does the
minister now acknowledge that her comments were both factually wrong and sent
the wrong message to water consumers?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I thank the member for the question and the very simple answer to that is, no.
I do not regret talking about the investment that this state government has
made to make sure that we have options for —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Bassendean.
Ms M.J. DAVIES :
This state government and the government before made investments to make sure
that we had climate independent water sources for the future of Western
Australians. We now have two desalination plants. This state government made
the decision to double —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, you have been called to order twice already. You cannot
ask a question and then ask a supplementary before she has answered.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : We made the decision to go down the path of groundwater
replenishment—a first in Australia—and we doubled the capacity
of that. That is on line to be completed by the end of next year. We have had
very close management between the Water Corporation and the Department of Water
for our very precious groundwater resources. There is absolutely no denying
that we have had a very hot and early start to the summer months. Until August
this year, the Bureau of Meteorology was predicting that we would have a wetter
than normal spring, but by October—remembering that we use the Bureau
of Metrology to do our long, short and medium-term planning as well—that
had changed dramatically. The CEO's comments yesterday were in relation
to the fact that we have a vast range of choices to manage our water resources
going forward, that we have had a much earlier and much hotter start to the
summer months than predicted, and that demand management—I have said
this, too—is always a part of the mix of how we manage our water
resources and our supply in this state. We live in the driest corner of the
driest continent in the world, and we always need to be mindful that demand
management is an important part of that mix. The Water Corporation, because it
is tasked with managing that supply, is quite rightly reminding the public that
they need to be very mindful of the amount of water they use because we have
had that dry and early start to summer. We all have responsibility in this
space. I am very confident that the investments that this government and the
decisions that the previous government made —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Maylands, I do not want to hear from you.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : I am very confident that the investments that the state
government has made puts us in good stead, but we have to be mindful that we
live in a very dry climate, and that demand management will always be a part of
that mix. That is exactly what the CEO of the Water Corporation was referring to
yesterday.
I thank the member for the question and the very simple answer to that is, no.
I do not regret talking about the investment that this state government has
made to make sure that we have options for —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member
for Bassendean.
Ms M.J. DAVIES :
This state government and the government before made investments to make sure
that we had climate independent water sources for the future of Western
Australians. We now have two desalination plants. This state government made
the decision to double —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Bassendean, you have been called to order twice already. You cannot
ask a question and then ask a supplementary before she has answered.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : We made the decision to go down the path of groundwater
replenishment—a first in Australia—and we doubled the capacity
of that. That is on line to be completed by the end of next year. We have had
very close management between the Water Corporation and the Department of Water
for our very precious groundwater resources. There is absolutely no denying
that we have had a very hot and early start to the summer months. Until August
this year, the Bureau of Meteorology was predicting that we would have a wetter
than normal spring, but by October—remembering that we use the Bureau
of Metrology to do our long, short and medium-term planning as well—that
had changed dramatically. The CEO's comments yesterday were in relation
to the fact that we have a vast range of choices to manage our water resources
going forward, that we have had a much earlier and much hotter start to the
summer months than predicted, and that demand management—I have said
this, too—is always a part of the mix of how we manage our water
resources and our supply in this state. We live in the driest corner of the
driest continent in the world, and we always need to be mindful that demand
management is an important part of that mix. The Water Corporation, because it
is tasked with managing that supply, is quite rightly reminding the public that
they need to be very mindful of the amount of water they use because we have
had that dry and early start to summer. We all have responsibility in this
space. I am very confident that the investments that this government and the
decisions that the previous government made —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time.
Member for Maylands, I do not want to hear from you.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : I am very confident that the investments that the state
government has made puts us in good stead, but we have to be mindful that we
live in a very dry climate, and that demand management will always be a part of
that mix. That is exactly what the CEO of the Water Corporation was referring to
yesterday.
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