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Desalination: a $2 billion white elephant
Sydney's desalination plant at Kurnell is bad news for the environment, the community and the economy.
The government built the plant against expert advice, and despite Sydney’s water storage level being over 50% full. The plant will be a:
- massive tax on consumers: households paying an extra $97 per year for water on average. That's a 15% increase.
- climate killer: causes 945 thousand tonnes of global warming CO2 each year (equiv of 22 thousand cars).
- potential white elephant: costs $1.8 billion but unlikely to be needed. Water restrictions, rainwater tanks and recycling are more cost effective and much lower risk.
- suburb smasher: streets ripped up and residents driven from their houses to build the new pipes.
- Botany Bay wrecker: marine ecology vandalised to build the pipe from Kurnell to connect to the water system.
The desalination plant will undermine Sydney's chance to be a world leader in water efficiency, tanks, storm water use and recycling and re-use.
For more information:
- See The Greens NSW Urban Water Policy
Latest News:
Coalition privatisation agenda is expensive and unnecessary
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell's plans to raise cash by leasing the ferries and the Kurnell desalination plant will raise costs on households without creating any economic benefits, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Sydney’s desalination plant set up for privatisation
Moves to give Sydney’s desalination plant its own retail licence are the first step towards privatisation of the plant, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. (‘Privatisation of desalination plant back on the agenda,’ SMH Business Day, 3 June 2010, p5, http://bit.ly/smh100603)
Feature: Sydney desal bad decision set to become worse
Analysis by the Greens shows that the panicked decision by the NSW Labor government to push ahead with a desalination plant at Kurnell before their own strategy indicated it was needed will cost Sydney, Illawarra and Blue Mountains residents and businesses $1.2 billion on top of the cost of the plant over the next decade. Now that it is built, operating the plant when it is not needed is set to boost that figure to $1.6 billion.
Keneally government must come clean on desal plant usage
The Greens are calling on the NSW Water Minister Phil Costa to explain when the $1.9 billion Kurnell desalination plant will be operated.
Hunter Water’s secret desal study undermines case for Tillegra
It has been revealed that in November 2006 when Tillegra was announced Hunter Water’s consultants were working on a secret report to select a site for a desalination plant in Newcastle, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Sydney households begin paying for Rees' desal folly
Price rises to pay for the Kurnell desalination plant dominate water bill increases that start today, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Sydney's desal pollution saga risks Botany Bay marine future
After three days of persistent silt spillages at Silver Beach, NSW Water Minister Nathan Rees has little choice but to put an immediate hold on the construction of the desalination water pipeline across Botany Bay, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Iemma's desalination blunder comes home to roost
Sydney, Illawarra and Blue Mountains residents should remember that the increase in their water bills was driven by Premier Morris Iemma's panicked decision to build a desalination plant, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Keep the restrictions, ditch the desal
The Greens are calling on the NSW Government to maintain level 3 water restrictions and instead freeze construction of the desalination plant at Kurnell.
Dams at 64% and rising: Iemma's desal panic looking more silly
The last week has seen Sydney's water storages rise by a massive 3%, putting yet more pressure on the Iemma government to stop work on the Kurnell desalination plant, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
