The Tasmanian Greens today cautiously welcomed Environment Minister David O’Byrne’s decision to convert the State Policy on Water Quality Management (SPWQM) under the State Policies and Projects Act 1993, and to instead have an Environment Protection Policy (EPP) pursuant to Section 96 of the Environment Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA), but pointed out that there would need to be amendments to ensure criminal prosecution of those who contravene the policy.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said clearly the current SPWQM had failed on many fronts, including:
• Allowing the ongoing chemical contamination of waterways year after year, leading to Hobart Water raising concerns in the recent review about the fact that pesticides cannot be removed from drinking water supplies at the majority of Tasmanian drinking water treatment plants;
• Failing to be reviewed regularly as is required – after 13 years of operation the Policy should now be undergoing its third review, but this is actually the first;
• Failing to publicise all data from water quality monitoring;
• Failing to adequately inform the public about the Policy itself, as evidenced by the receipt of only 22 submissions to the recent review; and,
• It relies on Water Quality Guidelines and Objectives which, after 13 years, have not been created.
Mr Morris also raised doubts about the proposal to give the Board of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responsibility for developing new water quality Guidelines and Objectives, as the EPA does not have the staff numbers or expertise required and the Board will simply do what it already does now and get the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment to do the work on its behalf, demonstrating that the EPA is not and cannot be seen to be independent, even if its Board is.
“The Greens believe the best way to provide the community with confidence that our water is being properly monitored and managed is to transfer all water quality responsibilities to a separate Water Quality Commissioner, together with appropriate staffing, following revelations that Hobart Water and the Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council have both lodged submissions with the current water review expressing concerns about the ongoing contamination of Tasmania’s waterways and drinking water supplies with highly toxic pesticides,” said Mr Morris.
“The ongoing and significant number of chemical contamination events in our rivers and waterways clearly demonstrates the failure of the Policy, and cannot be allowed to continue, so the Greens will support the Ministers’ intention to try to improve the way water quality is managed in Tasmania.”
“Hobart Water have revealed that once the pesticides are in the drinking water supply they cannot be removed by most Tasmanian treatment plants, while the TSIC says that the ongoing contaminations of Tasmania’s waterways are a major source of concern for the seafood industry. Clear policy, transparent monitoring and management, and strict regulation and prosecution are the only way to provide the assurances that Tasmanians need to feel comfortable that their water is safe to drink.”
“I am pleased to read that Minister O’Byrne believes that finding ways to improve water quality is a key issue for this Government, as this is a clean break from previous Ministers whose key objective was clearly to avoid doing anything to improve water quality and this policy has demonstrated just how effective they have been.”
“I call on Minister O’Byrne to publish a timetable for his reform process, because until change occurs the current failed system will remain in place. Tasmanians need an improved water quality policy and management system in operation within two years at the latest, and this must include some substantial community consultation.”
“The Greens will work constructively with the Minister to achieve a clear, robust, and practical Water Quality Policy for Tasmania, but we suggest that the Minister begin by committing to a timetable and shifting the required resources to the EPA so it can actually conduct this process independent of DPIPWE.”
“If the Government wants to have a state policy on water quality then it should prepare a short concise statement and then allow the more detailed content of the existing policy to be recreated as an EPP.”
“Taking 18 months to prepare the Response Paper to the Submissions to the original Review Paper shows that the previous Labor regime had the review of SPWQM at the bottom of its priority pile, and I can only hope that the new balance in the Parliament and Government makes a difference for the future of Tasmania’s water supplies,” said Mr Morris.
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Reference: “Review of the State Policy on Water Quality Management 1997,” Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, http://www.environment.tas.gov.au/?base=3716
