Chapter 6
Committee view
6.1
As Dorothea Mackellar observed in her timeless poem My Country, Australia
is a land of droughts and flooding rains. When considering the management of
stormwater, both of these features of Australia's climate are relevant. In
Australia's urban environments, rain events generate significant volumes of
runoff that must be removed from the streets. Yet the overwhelming
majority of this water is not utilised; rather, the stormwater is discharged
out of the city as quickly as possible via an extensive drainage network. In a
country that has a history of acute water shortages, the under-utilisation of
stormwater is, on the face of it, surprising.
6.2
Stormwater can also cause significant environmental damage. The
traditional method for stormwater management relies on drainage networks that
convey stormwater out of urban areas as quickly as possible. The pollutants and
waste from city streets and other urban surfaces carried by the runoff are transferred
into waterways. Both the pollutants and the quantity of the inflow degrade the
health of the bodies of water that receive the runoff. Further urbanisation
will increase the amount of impervious area in Australia's cities and,
therefore, the volume of stormwater that cities will generate. The effect that
climate change may have on rain events also needs to be considered,
particularly as climate change could potentially result in worsening
stormwater-related flooding in Australia's urban areas.
6.3
Stormwater appears to be a problem that will be of increasing importance
to address. As stakeholders repeatedly told the committee, however, stormwater
is unlike most other environmental challenges in that addressing the problem also
presents opportunities. Finding ways to harvest more stormwater will help
preserve other water supplies and, for non‑potable uses of stormwater, result
in less water being treated to drinking quality standard when this degree of
treatment is not required. There are several other potential benefits from
stormwater, such as the ability for stormwater to help improve the liveability
of Australia's cities through the use of green infrastructure. Additional uses
for stormwater and rainwater may also make cities more resistant to flooding,
while also potentially reducing the need to increase the capacity of existing
stormwater infrastructure. With ageing stormwater infrastructure in many of
Australia's major cities, it is timely to consider new and improved solutions
to stormwater management.
6.4
The committee is cognisant of the Commonwealth's limited role in urban
water management. Stormwater is a municipal issue that is the responsibility of
individual state and local governments. This has some advantages: state and
local governments across the country have the flexibility to develop policies
and projects that best suit them. Stormwater management challenges also vary
between cities because of geological differences—the best practice approach to
managing stormwater in Perth, for example, will differ to the approach needed
in Melbourne. This may allow different techniques to be developed and tested,
with demonstrated successes replicated elsewhere and less effective projects
not repeated.
6.5
Nevertheless, the current approach to stormwater management has various apparent
weaknesses. The primary responsibility for stormwater often falls to local governments,
which are limited in their ability to make decisions that are outside their immediate
area of responsibility and can be affected by actions, or inaction, in
neighbouring local government areas. Evidence received by the committee during
this inquiry also suggested that the regulation of water monopolies by state
governments prevents those entities from considering how better stormwater management
outcomes could be achieved. It was put to the committee that improved
stormwater management outcomes potentially could be realised if water
monopolies had broader objectives that allow them to become more involved in
best practice stormwater management.
6.6
Increased attention to, and investment in, stormwater management across
all levels of government could result in considerable environmental and
economic benefits. Responding to the threats of flooding, climate change and
ecosystem degradation should be priorities for all levels of government. The costs
of inadequate stormwater planning are borne by the nation as a whole, with direct
costs including those related to flood clean-up and recovery, higher insurance
premiums, and riparian management. Proactive planning and well-targeted investment
is needed to account for these threats.
6.7
The Australian Government is uniquely placed to promote the advantages
of improved stormwater management. The committee received evidence
demonstrating several examples where Commonwealth funding for projects and
Commonwealth-backed research enabled stormwater projects to be undertaken. Given
that infrastructure projects and responses to major flooding disasters often
require Commonwealth assistance, the minimisation of the long-term costs
associated with stormwater through better stormwater management also appears to
be in the best interests of the Australian Government.
6.8
The Australian Government can make a significant contribution by
providing national leadership in stormwater policy. State governments should
still try different stormwater solutions and pursue those that best suit them;
however, if the Australian Government can facilitate coordination between the
states and the sharing of lessons learnt from stormwater policies and projects,
this will help achieve the best outcomes nationwide. A consistent, national
approach to stormwater could also assist private firms to have leading edge
technologies they develop adopted throughout the country. In addition, this has
the potential to assist these firms to focus on export opportunities, rather
than understanding and overcoming domestic regulatory differences.
6.9
The committee considers that the Australian, state and territory
governments should develop a National Stormwater Initiative, which would
establish a national policy framework for stormwater management. The Initiative
will provide a mandatory national agenda for stormwater management that seeks
to realise economic and environmental benefits from the increased utilisation
of stormwater and which incorporates whole-of-water-cycle principles. The
Initiative will also outline the structure for funding, co-funding, conditions
for funding, incentives, policy setting (using agencies like the Productivity
Commission, Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Bureau of Statistics) and
data collection.
6.10
The development of a National Stormwater Initiative would enable various
funding models and financing issues to be considered, including co-investment
models and impediments to greater private sector investment. Best practice
stormwater management policies across a wide range of matters, including the
state government regulation of water monopolies, would also be identified and
refined. Throughout the development of the National Stormwater Initiative, consideration
should also be given to the contribution that stormwater management can make to
future national prosperity as we adapt to the challenges of urbanism, climate
variability, and population pressures.
6.11
Although the Australian Government should promote the adoption of best
practice regulatory frameworks, funding arrangements and policies for
stormwater, the committee envisages that the main ongoing role for the Australian
Government in stormwater management is to support research and encourage innovation.
Research and innovation in stormwater management and other water-related
matters is in the national interest. This research supports evidence-based
policy development and provides the greatest opportunity for stormwater
projects to improve outcomes and to be cost-effective. The National Stormwater
Initiative should outline the objectives of research and innovation support,
and consider how all levels of government can facilitate innovation in
stormwater management.
Recommendation 1
6.12
The committee recommends that the Australian Government work with the
state and territory governments to develop and implement a national policy
framework for stormwater management (a National Stormwater Initiative).
Recommendation 2
6.13
To inform the development of the policy and regulatory framework under
the National Stormwater Initiative, the committee recommends immediate audits
to:
-
establish the scope of stormwater opportunities, taking into
account water security, environmental issues and economic benefits; and
-
collate stormwater knowledge into a central repository to aid
future decision-making processes.
6.14
The committee further recommends that the audits:
-
be conducted by a balanced, independent expert panel with input
from relevant agencies, peak bodies and scientific representatives;
-
give due consideration to industry practice, science and
innovation; and
-
use whole-of-community, whole-of-life-cycle and system analysis
methodologies when assessing and prioritising potential stormwater projects and
policy reforms.
Recommendation 3
6.15
The committee recommends that the Australian Government place water
policy on the agenda of an upcoming meeting of the Council of Australian
Governments (COAG) and that COAG recognise the benefits that improved
stormwater management can provide.
Recommendation 4
6.16
As part of the development of the National Stormwater Initiative, the committee
recommends that the Australian, state and territory governments consider new
funding models and financial incentives that would facilitate improved
stormwater management outcomes in an economically efficient way.
Recommendation 5
6.17
The committee recommends that the Australian Government restore funding
for stormwater research. As part of the development of the National Stormwater
Initiative, consideration should also be given to how the overall level of research
and development can be increased by attracting co-investment from other levels
of government and the private sector to support and expand research activities
that receive funding from the Australian Government.
Senator Anne Urquhart
Chair
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