2006 Toowoomba Water Futures referendum

Last updated May 27, 2020

On 29 July 2006, the City of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia held a referendum on the controversial issue of using recycled water from the city's sewers as a source for drinking water.

The "Yes" position, championed by the mayor of Toowoomba, Di Thorley, and backed by the council staff and Toowoomba Water Futures^[1] project, faced opposition from a minority of councillors led by Councillor Lyle Shelton (millionaire property developer and the unsuccessful National Party candidate for Toowoomba North in the 2006 Queensland state election) and former mayor and MLA for Toowoomba South Clive Berghofer and grassroots campaigner Rosemary Morley.

Background

Changing weather patterns, a drought, and insufficient investment in water infrastructure in the 20th century by both Toowoomba City Council and the Queensland Government led to increasingly severe water restrictions in the "Garden City". Using town water on lawns, and eventually gardens and potted plants was banned under a series of ever harsher water restrictions.

A proposal to recycle water from the city's sewerage system, add salts to prevent the ultra pure water damaging concrete water pipes, pump it to the city's dams, then redraw it for domestic (drinking water) use was initially supported unanimously by the mayor and councillors, and by the local Federal Member Ian Macfarlane seat of Groom, which covers most of Toowoomba.

State and Federal governmental support from both Labor and coalition politicians was also strong.

The debate

The situation was complicated by growing resentment at perceived heavy-handedness from outside "celebrities" and leaders such as Commonwealth Water Minister Malcolm Turnbull who tied federal funding exclusively to the recycling project.

Lyle Shelton and two other councilors switched to opposing the proposal, as did Ian Macfarlane saying that "No" campaigner, millionaire property developer Clive Berghofer "had a right to be heard".^[2]

The lead up to the poll was marked by misinformation, dirty tricks and an alleged whispering campaign by some members of the Toowoomba City Council.^[3] Unsourced claims in the whispering campaign included a kick-back (of $11 million) to the Mayor; questions about the Mayor moving to Tasmania; and the engineering firm behind the project being a Halliburton subsidiary. There was a threatened exodus from the city should the recycled water begin flowing.

Much was made about the risk of loss of equity in homes as house prices would tumble should Toowoomba embrace recycled water.

The poll

The proposal was defeated on Saturday, 29 July 2006 by 62% to 38%. In 2007, the Mayor (Di Thorley) announced she was moving to Tasmania.

Related Research Articles

Toowoomba is a regional city in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 125 km (78 mi) west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The estimated urban population of Toowoomba as of June 2018 was 136,861, having grown at an average annual rate of 1.02% year-on-year over the preceding five years. A university and cathedral city, it hosts the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers each September and national championship events for the sports of mountain biking and motocross. There are more than 150 public parks and gardens in Toowoomba. It has developed into a regional centre for business, finance being the headquarters for Australia's largest mutual bank; Heritage Bank and government services. Toowoomba is served by Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and the smaller Toowoomba City Aerodrome.

Dianne "Di" Thorley is an Australian politician and a former mayor of Toowoomba, Queensland.

Shire of Crows Nest Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Crows Nest was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately northeast of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Crows Nest, covered an area of 1,629.9 square kilometres (629.3 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1913 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region. Its growth in later years has been fuelled by the expansion of Toowoomba, particularly the suburbs of Highfields and Blue Mountain Heights which, with a combined population of 7,333 in 2006, were home to over half the shire's population.

Shire of Jondaryan Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Jondaryan was a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately west of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Oakey, covered an area of 1,910.0 square kilometres (737.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region. Its growth in later years has been fuelled by the expansion of Toowoomba and suburbs such as Glenvale and Westbrook.

The following lists events that happened during 2006 in Australia.

Directly elected mayors in England and Wales are local government executive leaders who have been directly elected by the people who live in a local authority area. The first such political post was the Mayor of London, created as the executive of the Greater London Authority in 2000 as part of a reform of the local government of Greater London. Since the Local Government Act 2000, all of the several hundred principal local councils in England and Wales are required to review their executive arrangements.

City of Toowoomba Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The City of Toowoomba was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Toowoomba. The City covered an area of 116.5 square kilometres (45.0 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1860 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the surrounding area to form the Toowoomba Region.

Shire of Pittsworth Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Pittsworth was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire covered an area of 1,089.5 square kilometres (420.7 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1913 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region.

Shire of Cambooya Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Cambooya was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately south of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Greenmount, covered an area of 638.5 square kilometres (246.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1914 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region.

The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of 188.7 square kilometres (72.9 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1860 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the surrounding area to become the Rockhampton Region.

The Rockhampton Region is a Local Government Area in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount Archer National Park and Berserker Range.

The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyond.

The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional centre of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was separated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a local government authority.

The Cooby Dam is a rock–fill embankment dam with an un–gated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of Condamine River, at Groomsville in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Toowoomba region. The impounded reservoir is called the Cooby Creek Reservoir.

Clive John Berghofer is an Australian property developer, politician and philanthropist. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, Alderman and Mayor of Toowoomba.

Local government in the Australian state of Queensland describes the institutions and processes by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1993–2007. Queensland is divided into 77 local government areas which may be called Cities, Towns, Shires or Regions. Each area has a council which is responsible for providing a range of public services and utilities, and derives its income from both rates and charges on resident ratepayers, and grants and subsidies from the State and Commonwealth governments.

James Thomas Walker was an Australian banker and politician. He served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1901 to 1913.

Anthony James (Tony) Bourke is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1976 to 1980, representing the electorate of Lockyer. A long-term Toowoomba councillor, he later served as Mayor of Toowoomba from 1997 to 2000.

Lyle Shelton is an Australian political activist and prominent social conservative. He served as managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) from 2013 to 2018. He was one of the leaders of the "No" campaign in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. In 2018, he resigned from the ACL to become federal communications director of the Australian Conservatives political party.

References

↑ "Water Futures Toowoomba Website".
↑ Fraser, Andrew (29 July 2006). "Contest sinks to gutter - WATER WAR". The Weekend Australian. Sydney: News Corporation. p. 6. Thorley believes that property king Clive Berghofer, the city's richest man, put pressure on Macfarlane -- and Ian has said to all the councillors that (Berghofer) was Toowoomba's richest man and that he had a right to be heard.
↑ Fraser, Andrew (29 July 2006). "Contest sinks to gutter - WATER WAR". The Weekend Australian. Sydney: News Corporation. p. 6. THE campaign was ugly, quite literally going down the toilet.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Water Futures Toowoomba Website".

[2] Fraser, Andrew (29 July 2006). "Contest sinks to gutter - WATER WAR". The Weekend Australian. Sydney: News Corporation. p. 6. Thorley believes that property king Clive Berghofer, the city's richest man, put pressure on Macfarlane -- and Ian has said to all the councillors that (Berghofer) was Toowoomba's richest man and that he had a right to be heard.

[3] Fraser, Andrew (29 July 2006). "Contest sinks to gutter - WATER WAR". The Weekend Australian. Sydney: News Corporation. p. 6. THE campaign was ugly, quite literally going down the toilet.