Premier of Victoria

Water and the environment

The Coalition Government is committed to making our cities more liveable by making them more water sustainable and improving the environment.

The capture and use of stormwater and recycled water for non-drinking purposes will transform the urban environment, restoring our waterways and freeing up drinking water to ensure abundant and secure supplies for urban households.

In managing our water, we will focus on these key principles:

• Government ownership of water and water infrastructure
• Water should be used more than once wherever possible
• Water self-sufficiency in our cities
• A balance between population growth and water availability
• Water security for food producers
• Improvement of the environmental health of Victorian rivers

On other aspects of the environment we will form strong partnership with local communities, ensure the protection of our biodiversity and eco-systems, improve the sustainability of our natural resources, and plan ahead for our rivers, wetlands and marine environment.

We will also invest in innovative recycling and resource recovery projects.

Achievements and policies implemented

Water

• Signed $1.2 billion deal with the Commonwealth to upgrade northern Victoria's irrigation infrastructure and reduce the cost burden to irrigators
  
  
• Shut down the north-south pipeline
  
  
• Revealed the true cost of the desalination plant to Victorians
  
  
• Increased rebates to those who can least afford the price rises forced on Victorians by Labor's ill-conceived water projects
  
  
• $40 million for water efficiency rebates – including small businesses
  
  
• Revised the structure of water restrictions and permanent water-saving measures to ensure consistency across all of Victoria
  
  
• Settled a long-running constitutional challenge with South Australia over Victoria's water trading rules
  
  
• Provided flood response including:
   
  • 16 flood studies, 7 flood mitigation projects and 5 flood education and awareness projects for some of Victoria most flood-prone towns to assist them in better understanding flood risk and future preparation and mitigation of floods
    
    
  • CMA employment project to assist dislocated workers after the floods
    
    
  • $21 million for the Lower Loddon Irrigators Recovery Package for flood-affected irrigators
    
    
• Appointed 75 board members to the boards of 19 water corporations
  
  
• Established advisory group for Murray Darling Basin Plan to ensure Victoria is represented
  
  
• Appointed new boards to Victoria's 10 Catchment Management Boards

Environment and climate change

• Increased funding for the Department of Sustainability and Environment to more than $1.16 billion for this year to protect the natural environment, adapt to the impacts of climate change, reduce the threat of bushfires and deliver sustainable water management for all Victorians
  
  
• Took strong action to support the Bushfires Royal Commission recommendation to reduce the fuel load by increasing planned burning efforts across the state – the 190,000 hectares achieved in 2010–11 is the highest level of burning in 20 years
  
  
• Boosted support for local environmental measures in city and regional areas through the $20 million Communities for Nature program
  
  
• Provided more than $46 million in additional funding to support Parks Victoria in managing our parks and other significant environmental assets
  
  
• Funded wildlife shelters for injured or displaced animals at a cost of $1.2 million over four years
  
  
• Delivered an $8.3 million sustainable schools program to reduce energy consumption, water consumption and waste production
  
  
• Increased funding to Landcare by $12 million
  
  
• Restored community input on the environment by maintaining the ten catchment management authorities across Victoria
  
  
• Helped to achieve record visitor numbers to Melbourne Zoo through the Coalition's free entry for kids policy
  
  
• Actively sought out new areas for environmental protection by asking VEAC to investigate support for Yellingbo Conservation Reserve
  
  
• Established a television recycling program for regional area with the Commonwealth to reduce waste and illegal dumping
  
  
• Rolled out a promised $5 million program to deliver energy efficiency rebates for low income households
  
  
• Supported recycling through a $3 million scheme to boost recycling and waste recovery initiatives across metropolitan and regional Victoria
  
  
• Strengthened the work of Victoria's environmental watch-dog, the EPA, through the outcomes of the organisation's compliance and enforcement review
  
  
• Ensured ongoing financial sustainability of Parks Victoria with extra funding over the next four years and funding the ongoing employment of 65 park rangers, whose funding Labor had let lapse

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