The end to Torres Strait island residents needing to boil their drinking water is in sight, Member for Cook Cynthia Lui said today.
Ms Lui said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had announced in Parliament that the tender for a temporary filtration system, eliminating the need for residents to boil their water, was now open.
“This is really welcome news,” Ms Lui said.
“It is a concrete step towards making clean, safe water supplies for residents a reality,” she said.
In State Parliament on Wednesday, Ms Lui asked the Premier about action being taken to resolve issues associated with drinking water supplies on a number of Torres Strait islands.
In reply, the Premier told Parliament:
I thank the Member for Cook for joining me on my recent three-day visit to the Torres Strait.
It was a deep honour to visit Yam Island with the Member for Cook and to also meet with her family and friends who live on Yam Island.
I know it was a deep honour for them to have the Member for Cook return to her home island where she is now the proud first representative of the Torres Strait Islanders here in our parliament. I think that says a lot for this parliament that we have come of age.
She is a great representative for a great community. Water has been an issue that has been raised on a number of occasions. In fact, it was raised the previous year as well.
That is why I want to thank the Deputy Premier and Treasurer for making sure we had the $12 million allocated in this year’s Budget. We know how important it is to have good drinking water to service the Torres Strait, and that $12 million will go a long way.
During my visit there, I had the opportunity to meet with both of the local mayors.
The $12 million will be used to undergo the refit over the next two years so the people of Thursday, Horn and Hammond islands will have access to that water.
While we were on Thursday Island, we had the opportunity to visit the water treatment area and we got a good understanding of the issues.
The Torres Shire Council has engaged contract managers for the project and the overall project plan is being finalised.
In good news, I can announce to the House today that the tender for the installation of a temporary filtration system, eliminating the need for residents to boil their water, is now open.
We want to move this along as quickly as possible. We want to make sure that we get this fixed. It is very important.
A number of people raised that with us and I am very pleased that that tender is now open. We want to finish it as quickly as possible. We want that to be completed.
I know that the Member for Cook will continue to be a strong advocate for that community.
It was wonderful to visit schools on both Yam Island and Thursday Island. It was wonderful to see the students undertaking the Premier’s Reading Challenge and also learning coding and robotics.
It does not matter where you live in this state, coding and robotics is being taught from as far north as the Torres Strait to all the way down as far south as Coolangatta. That is what we want. We want our children to be prepared for the future.
I also found out some issues around children’s hearing. I want to have further discussions with the Minister for Health, the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and the Member for Cook.
Ms Lui said subject to the availability of equipment, the temporary filtration system was expected to be operating by the end of this year.
“This project will ensure everyone can turn on their tap and drink their water with confidence.
“In the meantime, Queensland Health will continue to monitor water quality on a daily basis.
“This project will engage local contractors and there is a strong focus on creating local jobs where possible.
“The Government will continue to keep communities up to date on the progress of the works being undertaken,” Ms Lui said.
Background:
The tender for the supply of the temporary filtration system is expected to be awarded next month.
The indicative timeframe for installation of the temporary filtration and lifting of the boiled water notice is the end of this year, subject to the availability of a ready-made system.
If a customised system needs to be designed and manufactured, this could extend the timeframe for installation of the system until February 2019.
ENDS
Media Contact: Cook Electorate Office 4223 110
