Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Gulf St Vincent, which borders the electorate of Hindmarsh. Many residents within the electorate of Hindmarsh have spoken with me with frustration, anger and almost a sense of helplessness over the downward spiral of the health of the gulf. I called a meeting last December to hear residents’ concerns about the gulf and was pleased to have Jennie George and Anthony Albanese present at this forum, which was conducted in the electorate of Hindmarsh. Also in attendance was the state member for Colton, Mr Paul Caica, who was representing the state government. He has been very supportive and has shown a keen interest in the health of the Gulf St Vincent.

The panel heard that the ecosystem within the gulf developed in very clear, nutrient-poor waters as water from the coastal plain was filtered by extensive wetlands and sand dunes before, to an extent, accessing the gulf. Decades of waste water and urban run-off have turned the gulf into a turbid, nutrient-rich sink. Residents and environmental scientists that attended on that day called for a policy of stopping all stormwater run-off and waste water discharge entering the gulf. The report of the 2000 Senate inquiry into the Gulf St Vincent has 143 paragraphs on threats to the gulf focused on greater metropolitan Adelaide. Forty-eight of these paragraphs—a third—focus on sewage, effluent, waste water, stormwater or run-off, with waste water and stormwater receiving almost equal attention. That is one-third of the attention given to the metropolitan threats. Of the report’s 15 recommendations, only one is focused on one of the four major metropolitan waste water treatment plants. Otherwise, storm and waste water is ignored but for a reference to improved water quality in another.

Both federal and state governments agree with what Hindmarsh residents were saying on that day and have been saying for a long time. The federal government has multiple initiatives focused on improving water quality along coastal areas, including the Urban Stormwater Initiative. I am sure each has done good although relatively small project work. If governments do acknowledge the detrimental effect of storm and waste water entering the gulf, do they care enough to commit the necessary dollars to help the gulf? The South Australian Water Proofing Adelaide Strategy aims to increase storm and waste water usage. But while the gulf is inundated by 230 gigalitres of waste and storm water per year, at best Water Proofing Adelaide will decrease this to around 200 gigalitres—and this is in 20 years time.

If the gulf needs to be free of storm and waste water to have any chance of restoring itself, then all governments will need to show exemplary focus, commitment and cooperation to relieve the gulf of this pollution. This means putting the dollars where the sentiment is. I am here to advocate for the gulf itself using the best advice I have at hand. I am here, as the federal MP for Hindmarsh, to say to the federal government of the day that the gulf and all the life in it need increased assistance and protection and that, if the federal government is committed to preventing environmental disasters, increased financial backing of substantial environmental works appears unavoidable.