Wednesday, 19 February 2025

 Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (12:22): With the impacts of climate change increasing, recycled water has a vital role in Victoria’s future. This is why the Allan Labor government was proud to back the $11.8 million Horsham SmartWater project. This recently completed project will improve the quality and accessibility of Horsham’s recycled water. A brand new network of pipes through the city of Horsham now connects to vital community spaces. This supports up to 126 megalitres of recycled water per year to help keep many parks and ovals green for families to enjoy and saves more of our precious drinking water. Horsham SmartFarm is also now home to a new reverse osmosis plant. This will ensure Victoria’s researchers have more access to high-quality water for innovative crop research. More purified recycled water will be used to irrigate over 50 hectares of grain, oilseed and legume crops, supporting Agriculture Victoria researchers to remain at the cutting edge of international agricultural research. This research helps to improve the profitability, productivity and sustainability of crop production. Over the past seven years our Labor government has co-invested over $73 million in over 170 integrated water management projects just like this one across the state. In a time of climate change and increased urbanisation, we need to be creative about using stormwater and recycled water to protect our precious water supply to get the best outcomes for our communities, because we know the importance of a sustainable water system for industry, the environment, our economy and of course our growing communities.