April 2006 Newsletter

Since my last newsletter I have been very busy with water issues. World Water Day was on March 22 (also our wedding anniversary) and I announced important grants to support water infrastructure under the Water Smart Programme. Water issues have taken me to Kogarah, Tuggerah, Windsor, Melbourne, Gippsland, Brisbane, Toowoomba and Darwin.

There have been some contentious issues  especially in relation to the Living Murray Initiative and recycling in Toowoomba. On the Living Murray see this article I wrote in The Weekly Times about the likely need for Governments to buy water to ensure that the target of 500 gigalitres is returned to the Murray by 2009.

The Prime Minister asked me to represent him in Rome at World Youth Day 2006 which culminated in the Palm Sunday Mass at St Peters with the handover of the Pilgrim Cross from the youth of Germany to the young people of Australia. Australian theologian Father Gerald O'Collins was honoured with an AC by our Ambassador to the Holy See, Anne Plunkett. Father O'Collins spoke warmly of his 34 years in Rome and, most touchingly, of the friendship between the late Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo di Segni. See my blog about the Rome visit here. This coming week is the the festival of Easter for Christians which I hope will be a peaceful and happy one. 

It is also the Jewish festival of Pesach or Passover,  - a time to celebrate the people of Israel's liberation from Egypt.  I wish all our Jewish friends and neighbours chag sameach for the festival of Pesach.

Things have been very busy on the local scene in Wentworth most notably helping the rehabilitation of Bronte Gully, supporting Point Zero , our local youth support group, representing the Prime Minister at Greek National Day, opening a new Coles in the old Kings Cinema building at Rose Bay North and, as an old Bulletin writer myself, visiting Waverley Cemetery to see the restored grave of the Bulletin's founder, J.F Archibald . We also announced  a grant to the local Life Changing Experiences Foundation for a mentoring project for young women, Sister2Sister .

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Visit to Rome for 21st annual World Youth Day

Last weekend I travelled to Rome to represent the Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard at the Catholic Church's 21 st annual World Youth Day where young Australians received from their German counterparts the Pilgrim Cross and the Icon of our Lady.

World Youth Day is an annual gathering of Catholic young people from around the world, created by Pope John Paul II in 1984. In 2008 Sydney will play host to this event, the biggest for Sydney since the 2000 Olympics, with around 150,000 visitors expected.

I explored the themes of journeys and love in my address to the International Council of World Youth Day organisers. I also attended the awesome Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square where the Pilgrim Cross and Icon of Our Lady were handed over from the German to the Australian young people.

I also announced the Federal Government's $20 million contribution to Sydney's hosting of World Youth Day 2008 which, added to the support given by the NSW Government, constitutes a very substantial support from Governments for this great event which will, in a most unique manner, open Sydney once again to the whole world. See my blog on the Rome visit here.

Urban Water

All of our major cities face water challenges. Most face real water deficits: in other words demand for water either does or shortly will exceed the sustainable yield which can be secured from their catchment. How are our cities coping? In order to find out I have written to those responsible for water in our cities seeking information. To that end I have met with water ministers and water utility CEOs in Queensland, NSW, the Northern Territory and Victoria with visits planned to South Australia and Western Australia later this month.

I recently saw first hand the stressed Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers with my federal colleagues Kerry Bartlett, Member for Macquarie, and Pat Farmer, Member for Macarthur. The case for largescale recycling (and using some of the water produced for restoring environmental flows in Sydney's rivers) is very powerful when you see the degraded state of the rivers today.

Our plan which I announced in this speech is to publish a series of issues paper on urban water to enable a greater understanding of urban water issues and a more informed public debate from which should emerge improved planning for our water future.

Toowoomba

A city which has a particularly acute water challenge is the garden city of Toowoomba high on the great dividing range. The City Council has secured Australian Government support for an innovative recycling project which will see recycled wastewater indirectly reused in the drinking water stream.but we have required there be a referendum first. I visited Toowoomba last week and for more on that visit and the recycling debate see my blog.

Darwin

In Darwin I had the privilege of announcing funding for major water projects in the Northern Territory. I also addressed the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association conference on water and other issues and was thrilled to announce some badly needed roads funding for the Top End, to support their live cattle export industry. See the speech here.

Darwin is a particularly interesting city from a water point of view. How can a tropical city with an average rainfall of 1600 ml per year ever be short of water? There are a combination of reasons. First the rain falls only in wet season. Second, the flat topography offers few dam sites and those which are available are very shallow. Darwin's main reservoir, Darwin River Dam, has an average depth of only 8 metres. Third, the evaporation rate is very high. The executives of the NT water utility, Power Water, told us that the dam loses 2 metres a year to evaporation and only 40 cms to consumption by Darwin. For more on Darwin see this blog.

World Water Day

World Water Day was on March 22 and highlighted water issues across Australia. On this day I spoke at the Australian Water Summit where I highlighted to the crowd the importance of the water challenge Australia faces. While global warming is by definition a global issue by way of contrast our water challenge is a national one for us to solve. My views on water reform were published in The Australian newspaper. The link for my speech to the Australian Water Summit is here.

For more on World Water Day see my blog here.

Rehabilitating Bronte Gully

Bronte Gully is one of Wentworth's hidden treasures. On 19 March I helped plant trees at the gully with volunteers from the Waverley Bush Care group. I wrote a blog about my visit here.

The gully had been used as a tip for many years by the council and so the Waverley Bush Care group led by Glenn Stevens have been doing a great job, with funding from the Federal Government's Envirofund program, of rehabilitating the gully, planting natives on the steep slopes and generally aiming to restore the gully to what it was originally - a coastal rain forest.

Point Zero charity concert

On 26 March I was MC at the Point Zero charity concert. It was a spectacular show, featuring Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra and world renowned pianist, Simon Tedeschi, playing Rhapsody in Blue, and young vocalist, Lauren Cohen.

The proceeds from this concert went to a very worthy cause - to support Point Zero's programs such as the Youth Outreach Van, the Safe Partying Program and the Community, Adolescent and Parent School Educational Program.

Restoration of J F Archibald's grave at Waverley Cemetery

On 31 March I visited Waverley cemetery to pay tribute to the restoration and ongoing care of the grave of its founding editor, J F Archibald. See photo here.

The restoration of the grave is being sponsored by the Bulletin magazine as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations. I wrote about politics and legal matters for the Bulletin from 1976-78. J F Archibald made an indelible contribution to Australian life by founding the Bulletin in 1880. When he died in 1919, he made two bequests by which he is best remembered by the general public - funds for the Archibald Fountain in Sydney's Hyde Park and the Archibald Prize for portraiture, Australia's most prestigious art prize.

Opening of new supermarket in Rose Bay

On 1 April I opened the new Coles supermarket in Rose Bay. The supermarket will add 180 jobs to our local economy.

The architects and designers have created a nostalgic and innovative shopping experience by converting the Kings Cinema into a supermarket. They have successfully incorporated many of the original features of the cinema into the final design.

Federal funding for the Life Changing Experiences Foundation

The Federal government recently recognised the Life Changing Experiences Foundation, a not for profit organisation based in Wentworth, under the Mentor Market Program. Over the next three years the Federal Government will fund $340,000 to The sister2sister Project, an innovative 12 month mentoring program that matches successful women with "at risk" teenage girls.

The Life Changing Experiences annual fundraising ball, The Life Changing Ball 2006, A Winter Wonderland Experience, will be held on Saturday 24 June at Doltone House in Pyrmont. To purchase a ticket or donate prizes please contact Katie O'Farrell on 9388-8569. For more information on the Life Changing Experiences Foundation visit their website at www.lifechangingexperiences.org .