Poll Vaulted

The Queensland Government have decided to scrap the $10 million water recycling poll. The Courier Mail has the full story.

Premier Beattie’s explanation for the decision is that "the reality is there is no choice". He said "I wanted to put this decision to the people but the reality is that sometimes a leader has to just go ahead and do what needs to be done."

Deputy Premier Anna Bligh said the dry summer meant the "luxury of giving the people an option had disappeared". She said “not only is it increasingly inevitable that we will have to use purified water as soon as the pipe is available but we may have to use it for quite a long time...What is the point of offering people a vote on something that is not optional?"

Beattie said that his decision had also been influenced by growing cross-party acceptance of indirect potable reuse as a viable solution for the region.

Brisbane's Acting Mayor David Hinchliffe confirmed support for today’s decision on ABC News. “Frankly I don't think the Government has got any alternative - we are in a dire situation,” he said.

My personal opinion on polls like the one that had been proposed is made clear in my earlier post titled Ask a Stoopid Question. However, I was not alone in considering such a poll to be either counter-productive or a waste of time or money. Queensland Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett called for the poll to be axed just a few days ago.

Chris Griffith from the Courier Mail posted a blog titled ‘Scrap the Water Referendum’ in November last year. He wrote “As we will certainly need recycled water to survive in south-east Queensland, there is little point holding a referendum on the subject”. While a number of interesting responses were posted, few of them directly addressed the issue of whether the poll was appropriate. Most argued passionately either for or against potable water recycling, or else for or against Wendy of Toowoomba.

Chris posted another blog when the poll date was announced at the start of December. By this time, many commentators began to call the poll a waste of time and money. Rod R of Toowoomba did so on the basis that politicians “were elected to the position of power to make hard discissions”. Elizabeth from Toowoomba agreed, urging governments to “PLEASE govern as you were elected to do, and save the taxpayer much needed monies for other projects, or use the money saved for our water”. Allan of Gold Coast pointed out that “tenders are already being let for the construction of the pipeline required to take the recycled water to the dam”. He argued that the purpose of the poll was simply to make us “feel like we are part of the process”.

Terry Nilsson of Redcliffe saw a much more sinister motivation for the poll. He wrote that “the only reason the State GOV. are going to the polls on drinking water is to leave them NOT at fault for your health or for your planned children, as in defects. If you vote this yes or no, you have no compensation claim against the GOV. because you had your say”.

I notice that ‘Scoop’ even had the foresight to ask the question that would later be answered “If drinking recycled sewage water is completely safe, as Beattie and his Australian Water Association friends tell us, why not make it 100pc?”

I think the mere threat of a poll did have one obvious and very significant advantage. It got us all talking about water. I suspect that the vast majority of residents of South East Queensland know something about water recycling that they didn’t know three months ago. This does not mean that they necessarily support the idea, but at least people are beginning to recognise that it is a realistic proposal.

But still, the process of making information available in the lead up to the poll had really barely begun. Discussion papers were to be produced and community forums were to be held. I sincerely hope that the QLD Government continue to see the value of these activities, regardless of the need to persuade people on how to vote at a poll.

…Oh and I also wish they’d stop talking about Armageddon. The situation is indeed serious, but hopefully good governance may prevent it from causing the world to come to an end.

Mr Beattie and Ms Bligh will hold a press conference shortly after midday today at which details of the decision will be announced. If anything significant transpires, I’ll add an update later.