Samantha Maiden, Political correspondent
May 11, 2007

THOUSANDS of litres of water lost every year through leaky pipes and crumbing infrastructure will be targeted under Kevin Rudd’s water plan.

The Labor leader last night used his budget-in-reply speech to unveil a $250 million national water plan to reduce waste.

It follows criticism that John Howard’s $10 billion water plan, unveiled in January, did little to tackle water issues in the nation’s major cities.

“Across Australia, we have about 175,000km of water mains. Leaks from these pipes remain a major impediment to future water security,” Mr Rudd told parliament. “According to the National Water Commission, in some towns up to 30 per cent of water is lost from leaky pipes and burst water mains. More than 155,000 megalitres goes down the drain in our capital cities each year.

“Water is too precious to waste. Tonight I announce that if elected, we will begin by establishing a modest national fund to start plugging the leaks in the water pipes of our towns and cities.”

Mr Rudd said if Labor was elected he would work with state and local governments to take action on water infrastructure.

“We will provide matching funds for practical projects that can identify relevant projects and take action,” he said.

“It is a modest, practical program - but one we believe represents an important foundation on which we can later build.

“The national Government cannot simply sit on its hands and do nothing about the water crisis affecting so many of our towns and cities.”

Mr Rudd’s speech highlighted climate change, criticising the Howard Government’s failure to tackle the problem earlier.

“The science is in. Climate change is a reality. It’s happening now. And its affecting our future supply of water,” he said.

“The second core reality is that the economic cost to Australia of not acting will be far greater than the cost of taking early and responsible action.”

Mr Rudd reiterated the ALP’s previously released 10-point plan on climate change, which includes ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, establishing a $500 million national clean coal fund and boosting the use of renewable energy “by enabling Australians to access low-interest loans to help energy-efficient measures such as solar panels”.

The Labor leader said an ALP government would fund the Gold Fields Superpipe delivering water to Bendigo and Ballarat, the Geelong Shell Refinery water recycling project and others.

In the budget, Peter Costello pledged to deliver $200 million over the next six years to help pay for the installation of water tanks and other water-saving devices.

The Government predicted the measures would save 50,000 megalitres of water by 2011.

The Government allocated $17.7 million to Scouts Australia to help halls and activity centres install water-saving devices.

To further assist farmers recover from the drought, the Government pledged an extra $314 million over three years in exceptional circumstances funding, including $273 million for primary producers an more than $40 million for small businesses.