Qld water policy: MPs dodge issue of recycled wastewater

MPs from both sides of politics have sidestepped the issue of whether they would drink recycled wastewater. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared she would drink recycled water if it was deemed safe by experts.

It follows Opposition Leader David Crisafulli refusing to say whether he would, claiming that if he gave a direct answer that would become the story and let the Queensland government off the hook.

Mr Crisafulli took aim at the government on Monday, accusing it of not having a plan for water security.

“We haven’t had a dam built in this state for nearly two decades, and the one that was built had to be ripped down because it wasn’t built properly,” he said.

“The most startling fact that shows that we need a water plan and we need one today is that in less than two decades we are going to need a dam the size of Wivenhoe on current demand.”

Mr Crisafulli would not reveal whether he personally would drink recycled water.

“If I answer the question in a direct way and give you a yes or no on that, that’ll be the story of the day and it will allow the government off the hook,” he said.

“I’m not going to give them an inch on that.

“I’m not going to make this a political game.”

But on Monday, Ms Palaszczuk said she would.

“If the experts say it’s safe, of course I would,” she said.

It comes after The Sunday Mail revealed a multibillion-dollar desalination plant could be built on the Sunshine Coast to avoid a public debate around drinking recycled water.

Drinking water recycled from sewage or grey water has been scientifically proven to be safe, but is politically unpopular due to the “yuck factor”.

A recycled water plan was voted down by Toowoomba residents in 2006.

Government minister Mark Ryan on Sunday sidestepped questions about whether he would drink recycled water, instead pointing to there being no moves to change Queensland’s water plan.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s office confirmed at the weekend that her government was not considering expanding its use or building more recycled water infrastructure.

Pressed on what his preferred option then was, Mr Crisafulli said, “My preferred option is a water plan that delivers for every Queenslander across this state.”

He said the LNP would deliver a water plan in coming years but did not say what that would include.

At the 2020 state election, the LNP announced it would build a pared-back version of the 1930s Bradfield Scheme, which originally involved diverting water from the upper Tully, Herbert and Burdekin rivers inland using tunnels, dams and pumps to create a huge irrigation area in Central Queensland.

Labor then announced it was working on a scoping study into the scheme, with an independent panel to assess its viability.

But the government is still sitting on the report and it is not known when it will be released.