YARRAGADEE AQUIFER - ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL
In light of the adverse reports from the Environmental Protection Authority on the sustainability of drawing water from the Gnangara mound, and that there is now a serious question over the government’s capacity to manage the drawing of an additional 45 gigalitres from the south west Yarragadee, I ask -
(1) What will be the government’s preferred options for meeting the next 45 gigalitres for the interconnected water supply system should the Minister for the Environment not approve the Yarragadee proposal?
(2) What is the likely timing of this alternative proposal as compared with the 2009 target for the Yarragadee?
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied:
(1)-(2) I will first address the preamble to the question, which misrepresents things. This government has sought to deal with climate change. The member for Stirling was not a member during the time of the last coalition government.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order! I call to order for the first time the members for Moore and Vasse and the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE: The member for Stirling has been caught out making claims that are factually incorrect. I do not know what to say about the coalition government after 1993, which claimed it had drought-proofed Western Australia by building dams. Not only was that totally ludicrous, but when the Labor government was elected in 2001 and then Premier Gallop said the state had a major issue with climate change and water, the Liberal Party said that statement was nonsense - a beat-up. It attacked the government for addressing the water issue in a serious way.
The issue with the Gnangara mound is that the criteria were set under a higher rainfall regime, and did not take account of climate change. If we completely stopped drawing from the Gnangara mound, it would still not meet those criteria, because the factor that has changed is the drying climate. Less rain is the factor.
To come to the member’s specific questions, the Water Corporation is investigating the potential for a second desalination plant on sites from well north of Perth to well south. I have asked it to expedite that investigation. The latest figures I have indicate that the earliest that could be brought on-stream would probably be 2011.
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