❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice addresses the axing of Waterwise rebates, questioning the decision's justification amidst increasing water usage and its impact on water security measures like sprinkler bans. The Minister defends the decision by citing the need for new, strategically targeted water conservation measures.
AnsweredQoN 275Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATERWISE REBATES — AXING
(1) Is axing the state’s Waterwise rebate the minister’s way of meeting the three per cent efficiency dividend at the expense of providing financial support to encourage Western Australians to reduce water use at a time when rates of water usage are increasing? (2) How much increased rainfall has Western Australia received in the past year to justify the minister’s decision to axe the Waterwise rebates? (3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS
(1) Is axing the state’s Waterwise rebate the minister’s way of meeting the three per cent efficiency dividend at the expense of providing financial support to encourage Western Australians to reduce water use at a time when rates of water usage are increasing? (2) How much increased rainfall has Western Australia received in the past year to justify the minister’s decision to axe the Waterwise rebates? (3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(2) How much increased rainfall has Western Australia received in the past year to justify the minister’s decision to axe the Waterwise rebates? (3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(2) How much increased rainfall has Western Australia received in the past year to justify the minister’s decision to axe the Waterwise rebates? (3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(3) Can the minister confirm that this decision to axe Waterwise rebates means that sprinkler bans are no long required to maintain the state’s water security? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
I thank the member for Cockburn for the question. I was wondering when he was going to ask me one, because the Parliament has been sitting for about three weeks. I congratulate him for asking his first question in this term of Parliament, because I was wondering where he had been. (1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
(1)-(3) The Waterwise rebate program has been in existence since 2003. Under the program, more than $45 million has been spent. The program has delivered water-efficient washing machines in 177 000 houses in Western Australia and has impacted on 351 000 households in Western Australia. However, times have changed and we must move on — Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Mr V.A. Catania : We have plenty of water now, do we? Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : No, we have not. However, we need new ideas and a new focus for water rebate measures. Recently, I visited the great town of Margaret River, and we released an $800 000 program that will address the water deficiency issues in that region. Therefore, what we are about is addressing strategically areas in Western Australia that have particular issues with water deficiency. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will address members who are prepared to listen. We need to look at other measures, such as retrofitting households that have leaky pipes. Work has been done that has shown that in Western Australia we lose more than 18 gigalitres of water from leaky pipes. Therefore, we must now look at other measures for water rebates and encouraging better use of water. In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
In closing, I indicate that the member for Cockburn has responsibility for water, but it is interesting that he confuses water rebates with water efficiency measures. The water efficiency measures that he talks about are sprinkler bans. No-one in Western Australia would have this government and the Minister for Water reverse those very good sprinkler schedules in Western Australia. Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Mr J.N. Hyde interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Perth! Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : We still have green lawns and green public spaces by using water efficiently. That is a water efficiency measure in Western Australia. No-one in this state would have this minister or this government reverse that very important water efficiency measure in Western Australia. We are serious about water efficiency measures and redirecting the water rebate system into better and newer ways to conserve water for everyone in Western Australia.
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