MP Malcolm Turnbull - "You do not need to put recycled water into the drinking water stream" ...
You can't get much clearer than MP Malcolm Turnbull's statement on ABC Radio yesterday (8 February 2006):
MALCOLM TURNBULL: You do not need to put recycled water into the drinking water stream. With modern technology it is perfectly safe to do so.
The water produced from modern recycling plants is frankly, purer than the water in Warragamba Dam. But there is no need to use this water in the drinking stream and there are plenty of industrial and other uses, not to speak of replenishing the natural flows in the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers.
While many disagree with his comments regarding the safety of recycled water, you can't get much clearer than his statement that there is no need to put recycled water into the drinking water stream.
How will Malcolm Turnbull reconcile this statement with Mayor Thorley's request to put recycled water into Cooby Dam for drinking purposes?
See - ABC AM Report.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 8:09 AM
16 Comments:
The interview:
Sydney's desalination plant put on hold
AM - Wednesday, 8 February , 2006
8:21:00
Reporter: Jean Kennedy
TONY EASTLEY: A lot of Australian cities and towns are facing critical water shortages and Sydney thought it had the answer to its problems.
Only months ago, the New South Wales Premier, Morris Iemma, vowed that Sydney would get a desalination plant, drought or no drought, to deal with the city's dwindling water supply.
But now he's decided that the politically and environmentally risky move will be shelved, at least for now.
The Government says it will instead bore down to groundwater supplies to the west and south of the city to find new sources of drinking water.
Environmentalists say while it's less damaging than a desalination plant, recycling is the only safe option.
Jean Kennedy reports.
JEAN KENNEDY: With dam levels recovering in recent months from an all time low of 38 per cent to the current levels of 45 per cent, the Government says the desalination plant will be put on the backburner.
The State's Utilities Minister, Carl Scully, explains the turnaround.
CARL SCULLY: Now since we made the commitment to do it, three things have basically occurred.
We've had a lot more water than anyone anticipated – now 45 per cent and potentially rising.
The levels of the aquifers are much bigger than we anticipated and the pipes that we can get into the deep water storages at Warragamba we can put deeper than we'd expected.
JEAN KENNEDY: Environmentalists have welcomed the decision.
Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre says the desalination plant was never sustainable.
JEFF ANGEL: We're now looking to the Government to say that recycling is the top of the priorities list and that we can now develop a non-wasteful water supply system for Sydney.
JEAN KENNEDY: The Government has indicated that it's going to bore down to the groundwater supplies in Sydney's west and to the south of the city to sure up supplies. Is this environmentally safe?
JEFF ANGEL: Well, they're only at best temporary supplies, because you couldn't exhaust groundwater supplies and we'll have to see the details from the Government about what is a sustainable way of extraction. But you should certainly use such supplies at a conservative rate.
But the problem still remains that we still waste a lot of water and we don't want to use these groundwater supplies once, we want to have them flowing through a recycling system as well. That means that they'll last a lot longer.
JEAN KENNEDY: The Federal Parliamentary Secretary charged with water issues, Malcolm Turnbull, also says desalination was always a bad idea.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: It was the worst option for Sydney's water crisis. The crisis is a consequence of the Labor Government doing nothing to augment our water supplies for the last 10 years. But de-sal was certainly the most expensive way to deal with it.
JEAN KENNEDY: The Government will today announce new recycling measures to save water for industrial uses. But it's stopped short of recycling sewage for drinking purposes.
Malcolm Turnbull again.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: You do not need to put recycled water into the drinking water stream. With modern technology it is perfectly safe to do so.
The water produced from modern recycling plants is frankly, purer than the water in Warragamba Dam. But there is no need to use this water in the drinking stream and there are plenty of industrial and other uses, not to speak of replenishing the natural flows in the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers.
TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Parliamentary Secretary for water issues, Malcolm Turnbull. That report from Jean Kennedy.
9:35 PM, February 08, 2006
In the light of all the information we now have about the reclaimed sewage water , I think the people should start a shame file on these Councillors. They have not read the Submission to the NWC and only know what has been drip feed to them by Di and CH2M Hill!!!!
10:34 PM, February 08, 2006
Quite simple really, Concerned Ratepayer - Mr Turnbull was very clearly talking about Sydney, and Sydney is not Toowoomba! We have very different needs and opportunities. Just for once, why don't you tell the whole story, and not just the bits that you can twist to suit your arguments?
9:28 AM, February 09, 2006
Quite simply really, Mr Turnbull is now on record at least three times saying there is no need to drink recycled sewage.
He has also stated that if the community doesn't want to drink recycled sewage, they shouldn't.
His comments are as applicable to Toowoomba as they are to Sydney and anywhere else.
There would be a clear inconsistency between making these statements and giving the Mayor's controversial project the green light.
Why is ok for people in Sydney to escape drinking recycled sewage but those in Toowoomba must be the "living laboratory" rats for the rest of Australia?
"why don't you tell the whole story"
Just like the Toowoomba City Council tells ratepayers the whole story?
The full story on the NWC application, independent consultants, Disneyland, community dissent, their biased CH2M Hill content driven website, the Deputy Mayor's fear campaign, etc?
Ah, that full story ...
10:20 AM, February 09, 2006
Interesting how one of the mayor's supporters is trying to separate Sydney and Toowoomba.
A week ago the game was to draw comparisons - Sydney should do recycled sewage (not desalination) like Toowoomba should do recycled sewage.
10:33 AM, February 09, 2006
Here are some half-truths from today's Letters to the Editor:
"there can be no lingering doubts"
"the entire medical, scientific and engineering community stands in agreement"
"opponents to recycling are becoming increasingly isolated" [had to laugh at that one!]
And you can guess which ex-nursery man returned to teaching school kids submitted (but probably didn't write) that.
10:44 AM, February 09, 2006
Jeff, we're just getting started!
10:51 AM, February 09, 2006
The letter to the editor is straight from the recyclers' playbook:
"The trick is to get the positive folks to be (or appear to the politicians to be) a more vocal majority than those opposed."
Australian Water Association
22 Jan 2003
http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/list_archives/water-recycling/msg01268.html
The problem is the letter is a bit too slick, isn't it?
You can't tell the public there are no lingering doubts when that's all they've been reading in the same paper.
The other likely problem is that they will conclude their action in March.
The opponents of the Mayor's plan are digging in for the long haul - the resources are there, the commitment is there and the public support is there.
The only way to ultimately resolve this issue is through a vote either at a general Council election or at a by-election for the position of Mayor.
When their group spokesman says he is looking forward to returning to the relative anonymity of being a school teacher as soon as possible (Toowoomba Chronicle, 1 February), it seems they haven't got the commitment to go the distance.
I like the phrase - 'opponents to recycling are without the organisational support for opposition to recycling'.
Does he mean that opponents don't have the Council providing support and advice?
12:53 PM, February 09, 2006
I find it interesting that they have 4500 signatures for recycling sewage. Has that petition been audited? I bet not. Seems they have to keep running to the chronicle to update their tally.
How about they all move into one suburb and have their recycled water and the rest of Toowoomba be excluded. They could even have trendy little cafes making coffee and cooking food in recycled sewage.
2:01 PM, February 09, 2006
The only way for them to retain some relevance in this debate is to continually update their "numbers" to the Chronicle.
This is a group that couldn't get more than a dozen or so people to their grand balloon launch near the Mothers Memorial (and that included several councillors).
I expect all their efforts will be wasted. They're not going to change the minds of the federal and state politicians who think that drinking recycled sewage is a bad thing for Toowoomba and that the other water options should be considered.
Do you think any of their group has read the NWC application?
2:23 PM, February 09, 2006
One of the problems is ego - the mayor and her supporters refuse to compromise in the face of substantial opposition from the community and on the political front.
At a certain point (if not reached already) the recycled water companies will view the Toowoomba debate as being far more harmful to the recycled water industry in Australia generally than any benefit to be derived from continuing to support the council on the issue.
4:06 PM, February 09, 2006
Recycling water for drinking in Toowoomba is now a dead duck.
Di has failed and is now hated by Canberra. They don't return her calls. Believe me they don't, I work for Council.
The politicians just wish Toowoomba's proposal would die a natural death.
Keep up the good work you anti-recyclers you have all of us at work here on your side but we are in deep shit if we speak out.
3:57 PM, February 10, 2006
Is that not a culture of bullying if employees have their own opinions of the recycled water.
Does our council support a culture of bullying?
If they do, it is about time they conducted some training on bullying in the workplace, from the top to the bottom of the ladder in the organisation.
2:38 PM, February 12, 2006
Employees could report the bullying issue to the CEO who may be required to refer the conduct to the CMC.
Now, if only the council had a CEO.
10:52 AM, February 13, 2006
It seems there is much discontent in the ranks of Toowoomba City Council workers.
Council workers may believe that Mayor Thorley should give up her controversial recycled sewage campaign and sit down and resolve Towoomba's water source issues.
If you want to share some of your stories about what's going on in the Council, email your comments to: ThorleyMustGo@hotmail.com.
Responses may be published on this blog but requests for confidentiality will be respected.
1:09 PM, February 13, 2006
Prehaps it is time we had a public meeting to cast a vote of no confidence in our current council!
7:36 AM, February 15, 2006
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