Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-05 Daily Xml

Contents

CHELTENHAM PARK

The Hon. M. PARNELL (14:41): I have a supplementary question arising from the minister's answer to me earlier. Can the minister clarify that this 4.5 hectare wetlands area is six times larger than the wetlands that have previously appeared on concept plans for this site?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:41): It is the capacity that is six times larger, at 1.2 gigalitres. The idea is—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: So it is six times deeper, then?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: No, you actually store it, because you inject it into the aquifer. Mr President, these are the people who have been claiming that they understand all about stormwater injection. We finally have a proposal that says we will inject this into the aquifer and we will clean the water in this 900 hectare area. It is about 5 hectares that will do the job, we are informed, and it will then be injected into the aquifer. The capacity of the water coming through, as I said, according to the advice I have received, is six times larger than originally envisaged. But, clearly, it will be injected into the aquifer where it can be re-used.