Minister should resign. "Reckless with water resources"

Alison Xamon, Greens Spokesperson for Water today called for Minister for Water, Dr Graham Jacobs, to immediately resign. The call came in response to evidence given at yesterday’s Budget estimates hearings in which Minister Jacobs revealed that he had removed reference to climate change in many of the Department’s documents.

“Clearly Minister Jacobs does not understand the seriousness that climate change poses for WA’s water future.”

“Water is crucial to Western Australia’s economic and environmental sustainability.  We should be planning for the future, not blithely ignoring the best science and independent public service advice that demands careful stewardship of resources.”

“Dr Jacobs is clearly out of depth in this critical portfolio.”

The Department of Water and Water Corporation are building long-term water sustainability into their forward planning.  The new water legislation is being built with climate change as an underpinning. The National Water Initiative that Western Australia has signed up to demands that climate change, climate variability and global warming be built into the forward planning scenarios.

“Yet Dr Jacobs wants to take WA in the opposite direction.”

“Desalination is incredibly carbon intensive.  These plants are dependant on base-load coal power, whose dirty carbon emissions are dramatically altering rainfall patterns.”

“He is wilfully ignoring sensible precautionary planning.  Jacobs is talking like a flat earther, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he denies that we should plan for the possibility of future reductions in rainfall and water availability.”

“To have a climate-change denialist in a position of such an importance for Western Australia’s future planning scenarios is akin to having Dracula in charge of the blood bank.”

“It’s no wonder the Minister has a dysfunctional relationship with his two water portfolio agencies, the Department of Water and the Water Corporation.”

“Dr Jacobs clearly has no understanding of his portfolio and should resign immediately.”