MP Macfarlane - comments on the 7.30 Report ...
Comments by MP Ian Macfarlane regarding the Toowoomba Water Futures project:
PETER McCUTCHEON: Local federal Member of Parliament, Ian Macfarlane initially indicated support for the project but now says the council should look more carefully at other options, such as sinking more bores and linking up to other dams.
IAN MACFARLANE: [On] the basis of information I was given by the council, [I] said that I would support the project. That information was later found to be lacking in detail and erroneous in terms of support from the community.
IAN MACFARLANE: Generally with these sorts of leading-edge projects, there is some technology to be proven. All of that requires the community to come with you, and on that basis, they haven't come with this project.
See - 7.30 Report.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 8:35 PM
33 Comments:
Japan has to be the world leader when it comes to new technologies. Since many Japanese cities have been recycling sewerage for over 40 years to be used for human consumption maybe Mr Macfarlanes comment isnt evidence based.
8:57 PM, March 22, 2006
We are not Japan and we do not want to drink recycled sewage.
9:00 PM, March 22, 2006
Name one Japanese city that has been practicing planned potable reuse (direct or indirect) for 4 years, let alone 40 years.
Why hasn't the Council been using them as examples, if they exist?
9:00 PM, March 22, 2006
It is interesting the the JUK factor has been answered.
YET UNIDENTIFIED KEMICALS.
9:02 PM, March 22, 2006
Interesting that Dr Greg Leslie was on the program still maintaining that nothing gets through the membranes:
"DR GREG LESLIE, UNESCO CENTRE FOR MEMBRANE SCIENCE: Reverse osmosis works by forcing water molecules across a dense plastic film. And things like salt and pharmaceuticals can't dissolve into the plastic the same way that the water does."
This is despite the Council now admitting that organic molecules do get through the membranes.
Also interesting that Dr Leslie still seems to be advising the Council:
"PETER McCUTCHEON: After working on a water-recycling project in California, chemical engineer, Dr Greg Leslie, is advising Toowoomba Council. "
and very much playing down the CH2M Hill consulting role, despite:
"Dr Leslie is a consultant for the engineering firm CH2M Hill, which was engaged by the Toowoomba council for its recycling proposal." The Australian - 24 February 2006.
How does CH2M Hill feel about the negative publicity being generated for the recycled water industry by Mayor Thorley and her controversial sewage project?
How do they feel when a newspaper carries the banner headline: "We will outlaw recycled drinking water".
Must make them think.
9:04 PM, March 22, 2006
Di Thorley has been all over the southern media tell every-one listening that she had 70% support and now she dose not know!!
9:04 PM, March 22, 2006
The Federal government will have to sit up and take notice of their member for Groom. Good on Rosemary Morley for her stand.
A job well done!
9:06 PM, March 22, 2006
The Mayor now loses another of her "reasons" for introducing recycled sewage for drinking.
For months, she has claimed this mysterious 70% support.
And now she says she hasn't a clue about how many people support her project.
One by one, all the things said in support of the project turn out to be false:
- 70% of Toowoomba people support the project
- there are no other options
- nothing gets through the membranes
- the Council has approved the project
- it's done all over the world
- they drink it at Disneyland
- our experts are independent.
What a shambles!
9:11 PM, March 22, 2006
They said that Mr Beattie still supports the project, what happened to all that talk about other options.
9:14 PM, March 22, 2006
Maybe one could say the Mayor has lost her reasoning powers all together.
9:18 PM, March 22, 2006
Mr Beattie knows that there is a risk (without rain) of the Toowoomba dam levels getting very low right at the time of the next State election.
He knows how bad that would be for his re-election chances - "Mr Beattie, after all the problems with health, you decided to let a major city run low on water - what were you thinking?"
That's why he's working on option B.
9:21 PM, March 22, 2006
I've also watched the 7.30 report and I can't help wondering what's the big deal. What did we see after all that was new? -
Rosemary got to say poowater on national television
Ian macfarlane got to make some lame excuses about why he changed his mind, but didn't mention why he is putting the interests of a few irrigators ahead of the majority of his constituents. Also failed to mention just what facts he is using to brand the council's information inaccurate
CADs got to crow about their supposed 10,000 signatures - has anyone actually seen the petition since it was given to Mr Macfarlane way back when, and, by the way, his office announced that only 2/3 of the signatures were legitimate
Mr Macfarlane pulled out the tired old guinea pig line and nobody actually asked about recycling in other places, because they do, deny it as much as you want, and it hasn't made everyone die of horrrible diseases. Or maybe Greg Leslie did mention it, and somebody forgot to put it to air because it didn't make for a good story?
Di Thorley wore a funny hat, but she didn't seem to be joking. Nice to see some honesty about politics
kind of surprised that someone didn't bring up the ch2m hill conspiracy bit, but at least concerned ratepayer managed to work it in. Nice to see that you can rely on someone!
9:30 PM, March 22, 2006
What you saw was the Mayor exposing another of her lies.
For months she has been on radio (no transcripts usually) saying 70% of the Toowoomba community support her project.
She contradicted herself in the Australian article and again on the 7.30 Report tonight.
The thing about lying to the voters is that you have to keep up the act - and she failed.
9:37 PM, March 22, 2006
There's no great CH2M Hill conspiracy being raised - just wondering how they feel about all the negative publicity being generated and how it will impact one of their main income streams.
9:40 PM, March 22, 2006
This sewage debate has moved beyond health issues, conflicts of interest and whether they do it in Singapore or Orange County.
It's about whether there are other options which should be properly assessed before resorting to drinking recycled sewage.
The State government and the State opposition are now looking at these options.
The Water Facts coalition is also looking at these other options.
The Council claims they aren't viable but their costings have been massaged to suit the case for their recycled sewage project.
9:52 PM, March 22, 2006
About the only people not looking at other options are the Council and their support group!
10:00 PM, March 22, 2006
My thoughts on the comment from anonymous:
++I've also watched the 7.30 report and I can't help wondering what's the big deal. What did we see after all that was new?++
The Mayor finally saying on the record that she has no idea how many people support her project - her claims that 70% of the community support her have been shown as blatant lies.
++Rosemary got to say poowater on national television++
Actually it was "Poowoomba" and who wouldn't want to!?
++Ian macfarlane got to make some lame excuses about why he changed his mind, but didn't mention why he is putting the interests of a few irrigators ahead of the majority of his constituents. Also failed to mention just what facts he is using to brand the council's information inaccurate++
Why not adopt a whole-of-region solution to the region's water source issues?
++CADs got to crow about their supposed 10,000 signatures - has anyone actually seen the petition since it was given to Mr Macfarlane way back when, and, by the way, his office announced that only 2/3 of the signatures were legitimate++
If you live in Toowoomba, you'll know who to ask and I'm sure you can see the petition.
++Mr Macfarlane pulled out the tired old guinea pig line and nobody actually asked about recycling in other places, because they do, deny it as much as you want, and it hasn't made everyone die of horrrible diseases. Or maybe Greg Leslie did mention it, and somebody forgot to put it to air because it didn't make for a good story?++
The questions the Council has never answered:
If you don't need to drink recycled water, why would you and why should you?
Why should Toowoomba "dumb-down" to standards elsewhere when we don't need to?
++Di Thorley wore a funny hat, but she didn't seem to be joking. Nice to see some honesty about politics++
Nice to see her breach Navy protocol by stealing the Captain's cap - can she be thrown in the brig for that?
++kind of surprised that someone didn't bring up the ch2m hill conspiracy bit, but at least concerned ratepayer managed to work it in. Nice to see that you can rely on someone!++
When the Council goes to extraordinary lengths in the media and in their own meeting minutes to cover up the connection between one of their experts and the company working on their project, it makes you wonder.
The Council's strategy has been a PR disaster from day one - all their consultants must be fed up with their approach - and it leaves Toowoomba residents highly suspicious of anything they do.
10:19 PM, March 22, 2006
It shits me that you can have a guy whose company is working on the project get on TV and not disclose that interest.
Try that in some other industries and they'd run you out of town!
10:37 PM, March 22, 2006
We've flushed the loo.
We watched it go.
We're turning on the taps.
To watch it flow.
10:57 PM, March 22, 2006
Correction -
"She contradicted herself in the Australian article and again on the 7.30 Report tonight."
The comment in the Australian article on 2 March 2006 was actually another affirmation of 70% support:
"Despite Berghofer's vocal opposition, Thorley believes 70 per cent of the community support the plan."
A real contrast between that position and the position on the 7.30 Report tonight.
11:27 PM, March 22, 2006
Do you think she knew she could probably get away with the 70 percent lie on radio and in print but knew that it would come back to haunt her if she repeated it on TV?
11:48 PM, March 22, 2006
Has anybody even looked at the puny bit of water we would gain from this recycling plan? It's not mcuh at all and will do hardly anything to alleviate Toowoomba's water woes as we head into the seventh year of well below average rainfall. I cannot believe that TCC keeps going down this path. Perhaps they knew it would get bogged down in controversy so as to cover up the fact that something more drastic needs to be done which I assume is where the state and federal government will have to act soon which will in turn save TCC from outlaying the money and then they can just blame us for not wanting to drink recycled effluent as the reason for the mess!
12:12 AM, March 23, 2006
This crazy reclaimed sewage water plan will NOT be here until 2011 and it will not save us with a substantial water supply. Thank God for Rosemary Morley and CADS who were brave enough to stand up and be counted when at that time one one else did. We have now got to push Peter Beattie into action and get a water supply to Toowoomba and the whole region.
6:11 AM, March 23, 2006
Yes, who cares what city or country drinks recycled water, we don't. Macfarlane's comments are valid and I support him 110%. I have no confidence in our mayor, especially when she publicly states we should get tanks and buy bottled water without offering compensating, that's no way for a mayor to act, she is the biggest hypocrite counciler ever. She should be axed before it's too late. I am sure the federal government will not let a town like Toowoomba run dry, despite what our mayor thinks or proposes.
It's about time the quiet people start to speak up, then our mayor will be sure of how many are against her project.
She has been spending so much our our money on this already and I warn everyone now, if this project is approved, expect land and water rates increase almost every year to cover the cost of running such stupid plan... Even if it doesn't rain, recycled water isn't going to last for ever, I would think after being recycled so many times it would become un-usalable and unstable, are you willing to risk drinking water that somebody has shit, spued, bled, pour poison in, the toilet and recycled over and over? NOT ME!
9:41 AM, March 23, 2006
40 Years, 1966 - I find no information about using recycled sewage for drinking in that age, more lies.
Thorley is using this project because she doesn't want to be remembered as the "Mayor that led Toowoomba Dry".
You can't recycle something over and over and keep it's integrity, only mother nature knows how to do that, and Thorley isn't anything like mother nature, neither are all the egg heads saying this is safe.
10:06 AM, March 23, 2006
Our Mayor is missing the point, even if you install tanks or buy bottled water, you will still be exposed to Poo Water.
What do you shower in? Our skin will absorb what comes into contact with it.
What do you cook in? When you go out what will your cup of coffee be made on, what will your meal be cooked in?
We will be exposed in one way or another to poo water.
What will happen to our boarding schools in Toowoomba, a lot of country folk are going to bypass Toowoomba and send there children to other centres.
Our council has not looked at the whole picture, it is about time they removed their blinkers and started looking at the whole picture before they kill Toowoomba!
1:14 PM, March 23, 2006
It was interesting to see the Mayor trotting out her now tired but still arrogant stance:
"You can put it in a tank or buy bottled water if you really have a real phobia about the water."
Why should Toowoomba residents have to incur cost because a Mayor who won't be around in 2 years refuses to listen to the concerns of the community?
1:53 PM, March 23, 2006
We have no other options.
We have 70% community support.
We have Council approval.
We've brought in lots of experts.
We've made a funding application.
Where the bloody hell are you?
Poowoomba!
2:56 PM, March 23, 2006
To Rosemary Morley - please never give up - keep fighting this council and its sewage project until the fight is done.
Thank you.
5:10 PM, March 23, 2006
Di Thorley - "You can put it in a tank or buy bottled water if you really have a real phobia about the water."
Just never go out to a cafe or restaurant - stay in your home with your water tank.
7:48 PM, March 23, 2006
Apparently Di was more upset the way the 7.30 Report went because Rosemary Morley would'nt play dress up and wear her pirate hat.
One of her responses would have been better answered
"I have no idea, pause, pause.
Hey do you like my hat I can get as many as you want"
Her advisors must have told her to point to your head ( it was quite obvious, she did it twice) while talking about people that may have a phobia with recycled sewage . She is trying to make people feel like there is something wrong with themselves if they don't like other people's shit.
It was nice to see Rosemary with such a refreshing look as all ways. Our mayor looked like she had spent 2 weeks overboard. Maybe it is just the pressure. Don't turn around mayor here come the irrigators. They won't back off either.
10:32 AM, March 24, 2006
Yet another front for the Council to fight on this issue.
Every week, there seems to be another group opposed to the Mayor's plan and looking at other water options.
The opposition just keeps growing.
10:40 AM, March 24, 2006
And soon there's a lawsuit by the irrigators to stop the project.
How will council deal with that I wonder?
1:55 PM, March 24, 2006
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