Media Statement - 2nd November 2007
A Rudd Labor Government will invest $20 million to establish a National Centre of Excellence in Water Desalination to help secure Australia’s permanent drinking water supply from the dangerous effects of climate change.
Located in Perth, Federal Labor’s National Centre of Excellence in Water Desalination will be a world class facility developing and commercialising new water technology.
The existing desalination skill and technology base that already exist in Western Australia means Perth is the most logical place to host Federal Labor’s Desal Centre.
Federal Labor’s National Centre of Excellence in Water Desalination will help secure Australia’s water supply from the dangerous effects of climate change by:
- Investigating ways of optimising and adapting desalination technology for optimum use in Australia’s unique circumstances;
- Expand on research into the use of desalination technology in rural and regional areas; and
- Researching ways of efficiently and affordably reducing the carbon footprint of desalination facilities.
- Accelerating ground breaking research on energy efficient bulk water supply technology being developed in Australia;
Under Federal Labor’s plan Australia will become a research hub for new water technology and ensure Australia is a water technology maker, not a technology taker.
Under Federal Labor’s $20 million five year plan universities, government agencies and other interested stakeholders will be asked to develop collaborative bids to competitively bid for the opportunity to be part of the Centre.
The National Centre of Excellence in Water Desalination is part of Federal Labor’s $1 Billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan.
Perth to host the National Centre of Excellence in
Water Desalination
Western
Australia is a proven
leader on desalination and is the most logical state to host Australia’s first National Centre for
Excellence focused on the research and development of Desalination Technology.
Western Australia has the runs on the board with the first major desalination plant for public drinking water in Australia already built and operating at Kwinana, and a second plant on its way.
The Kwinana Desalination Plant already turns water from the Indian Ocean into nearly 40 million gallons of drinking water a day. The reverse-osmosis plant is powered by the Emu Downs Wind Farm, with 48 wind turbines.
Federal Labor’s National Centre of Excellence in Water Desalination will mean more high tech jobs for Western Australia, and will significantly increase skills in the area of water service provision for all Australian states and territories.
Other desalination plants are at various stages around Australia including in: Sydney, the Gold Coast and the Spencer Gulf in South Australia.
More Commonwealth support for
water infrastructure in Western Australia
After
11 years of neglect by the Howard Government, Western
Australia has not received its fair share of Federal
water project funding. The Howard
Government has failed to support Western
Australia’s leadership in water management, with only 2.7 per cent
or $37.6 million of funds allocated to Western Australia from the $1.6 billion Water
Smart Australia Program.
A Rudd Labor Government will significantly boost Commonwealth investment in Western Australia’s water infrastructure. The Funding for the Centre of Excellence in Desalination in Perth brings Federal Labor’s investment in crucial water infrastructure projects in Western Australia to a total of $115.2 million.
For Western Australia, in addition to potential funding under the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan and the $20 million for the Centre of Excellence in Desalination, a Rudd Labor Government will invest:
- $2 million towards the “Saving Hyde Park” project in Perth;
- $4 million towards the $8 million Urban Waterways Renewal project in the Canning and Southern River area;
- $10 million towards a $20 million desalination plant at Wellington Dam to secure water supply from the Collie Basin to the power industry, irrigators and potentially to supply drinking water;
- $49 million towards the Harvey Water Piping Project;
- $30 million towards the Gnangara Mound aquifer recharge project; and
- $200,000 for the development of a coordinated and linked Water Cycle Management Plan for the Peel Harvey Catchment Council.
Part of Labor’s
broader plan to secure the water supply of our major
cities
Under Federal
Labor, the $1 Billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan will fund a 10% Water Tax Credit and grants for
approved desalination, water recycling, and major storm water capture projects
developed by the private sector, local governments, and State and Territory
Governments.
Federal Labor’s National Urban Water and Desalination Plan will drive up to $10 billion worth of investment in Australia’s urban water infrastructure. A Rudd Labor Government will require projects supported under the $1 Billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan be consistent with environmental best practice and include a commitment to being carbon neutral.
With its carbon neutral guarantee, Federal Labor recognises that securing our future water supplies is a key part of tackling climate change.
Federal Labor totally rejects statements by Treasurer Peter Costello, who said on 9 May 2007 that “meeting the urban water crisis was a job for State Governments, not the Federal Budget”.
Just two months ago, the Howard Government Cabinet washed its hands of the urban water crisis when it rejected a submission from Malcolm Turnbull for a major investment by the Federal Government in urban water infrastructure.
The impact of
climate change on Australia’s water
security
Without action, Australia’s long-term water security
is under pressure from the impacts of population growth, climate change and
ongoing drought. Since 1950 Australia has been getting dryer. The
regions where it is getting drier are where most of us live and where we grow
most of our food. And the CSIRO is projecting further drying in these areas.
A recent CSIRO Report projects less rainfall and higher temperatures across much of Australia with up to 20 per cent more drought-months months by 2030.
According to the Australian Water Association, there is likely to be increased evaporative losses, increasing demands on water and adverse impacts on water infrastructure associated with reduced flows to sewers and drier soils, creating movement of pipes. Bushfires will be more frequent and probably more intense, which will reduce land cover, impact runoff quality and reduce yield during regrowth.
A discussion paper prepared for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in November 2006 warned that “the current drought … is extreme in terms of the historical record [and]… it is a portent of a future under climate change.”[i]
The report noted that “for many cities current supply capacity is now grossly inadequate and restrictions have become more frequent and more severe” and that “significant investment in water conservation and new water supplies is required.“
[i] Securing
Australia’s Urban Water Supplies:
Opportunities and Impediments, a discussion paper prepared for the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Nov 2006
Map 1: Trends in annual total rainfall 1950-2006
