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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-29 Daily Xml
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WATER HEATERS

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (16:03): I move:

That the regulations under the Development Act 1993 concerning heated water services, made on 26 June 2008 and laid on the table of this council on 22 July 2008, be disallowed.

In March this year the Minister for Energy announced greenhouse gas emissions and flow rate performance standards for domestic water heater installations. These have already commenced this year.

Under these new standards, water heaters installed to specific classes of new and established dwellings in South Australia need to meet specified greenhouse gas performance standards. In addition, shower outlets connected to the installed water heater will need to meet water efficiency flow requirements. It is claimed that this measure will contribute about one-third of the energy savings needed to meet South Australia's Strategic Plan and that it will significantly contribute to our water resources.

These changes are to the waterworks regulations. They are required to allow SA Water to issue a direction requiring licensed plumbers to comply with the new standards. The old waterworks regulations did not allow for a direction of this nature to be given, and it was proposed in this particular regulation that the direction be used to enforce the new standards. I will shortly move Notice of Motion: Private Business No. 6 appearing on today's Notice Paper, which sets out a variation to the development regulations that will establish the performance standards for domestic water heater installations.

All of these principles are commendable and are supported by the Liberal members; however, the member for Heysen has pointed out that the effect of the new requirements is that new water heaters which are installed in areas in the Adelaide Hills such as around Stirling and some of the colder parts of the state will have to be either gas or solar hot water systems. There is no reticulated natural gas in the Adelaide Hills and many other parts of South Australia; there are some parts of the state but not many, so that means that households using gas need to obtain bottled gas or solar heaters. I am advised that solar heaters in the Adelaide Hills are not as effective—certainly, in some areas for some houses which do not have north-facing edges or houses which have trees around them.

The solar hot water systems, as I am advised, are said to be resistant to frost up to 800 metres altitude but, in fact, because of the features I just mentioned about the location of solar panels, they do not operate in many cases as well as they should. Indeed, I am advised that some 75 solar hot water systems in the Stirling area failed last year because of cold temperatures, principally burst pipes and the like.

Ultimately, this means that for those people there will be a need to install an electric booster, which is expensive and which rather defeats the purpose of reducing the greenhouse gases, as I am advised. So, we believe that the regulations ought be amended by allowing for exemptions in places such as the Adelaide Hills to accommodate the particular problems that are being experienced there.

I am seeking further information regarding the effect on the Stirling area of these regulations and I will seek leave to conclude my remarks in relation to this motion. Members would be aware that it is not possible for either house of parliament to amend regulations, and it is for this reason that in order to agitate the issue and to secure the exemption it is necessary to move for disallowance of the whole. I seek leave to conclude my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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