WATER RESOURCES RETIREES’ ASSOCIATION INC.

MINUTES OF THE 35th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

THURSDAY 2 MAY 2019

SAILOR JERRY ROOM, VICTORY HOTEL, BRISBANE

Opening The meeting was opened by President Peter Gilbey at 11am. He welcomed those in attendance including our special guests.

Present: Members - Peter Gilbey, Gary Corbett, Rolf Rose, Bruce Pearce, Ian Pullar, David Free, Heine van der Heide, Jon Henry, Doug Flanders, Pat McCourt, Bob McDonald, Trevor Sleep, John Hillier, Jim Uhlmann, Allen Seabrook, Rob Herd Visitors – Maria Rose Apologies: Guests – Gordon Delaney, Dan Harris, Ross Carruthers Apologies – Daryl Brigden, Mike Merrin, Russ Robson, Brian Shannon, Ross Stewart, Terry Loos, Peter Noonan, Rob Craig, Peter McMahon, Ian Ferrier,

Memorial The President noted that a number of our members, family members, and non-member work colleagues had passed away during the year and these are covered in the Presidents report

Address by Co- SunWater Patrons With Nicole Hollows our Patron having other commitments we were joined by Gordon Delaney, Manager Environment, who gave a presentation on current issues in Sunwater.

 Revised purpose from all employees – Delivering water for prosperity  4 Strategic Goals remain same and key focus being: o A safe high-performance culture, o A sustainable business, o Supportive Stakeholders and o Commercially focused operations  We are updating the Sunwater website and rolling out our new logo.

 Brisbane office relocation – moved to Green Square Fortitude Valley mid January 2019 (cost savings $1m pa)  Focus on improving culture, including strong focus on safety culture. o Rollout of ‘Switch On Safety’ workshops – Top 4 things each of “stay safe” o Legends List to improve reward and recognition o Thrive employee team workshops across the business

Page 1 of 10  Fairbairn Dam Improvement Program construction work continues for Stage 2 and also Stage 3 for gravity sidewalls  Burdekin Falls Dam o Preliminary Business Case for Dam Improvement Program (DIP) progressing with hydrology studies given large catchment and different options to consider potential impacts o Raising – Preliminary Business Case completed and EIS preliminary studies progressing. Detailed Business Case will commence after further EIS studies progressed and decision on potential change to ROP rules for raising height above 2 m to determine options for consideration above 2 m o Working with Stanwell on study for hydro.  Paradise Dam Improvement Program Building Queensland (BQ) led Detailed Business Case commenced based on two recommended options, full upgrade and lowering spillway  Nullinga Dam Detailed Business Case in progress for potential construction of the dam  Leslie & Teemburra DIPs - studies progressing for completion of Preliminary Business Case  QCA Price Path – draft submission lodged early November  Customer centric organisation focus  Lower deliveries predominately due to low storage dam levels  Wet season preparation and new Sunwater App has been launched  Sunwater is Construction Authority, Water Marketer and will be Operator of the Rookwood Weir and ownership is being finalised given funding jointly from the Commonwealth and the State  Paradise Dam Expression of Interest (EOI) for sale of surplus water conducted with significantly lower upfront water charges given only 11% of water sold  Burdekin Falls Dam surplus water allocation EOI sale process will commence in mid 2019  Paradise Dam weed control with weevils and Tinaroo Dam hyacinth management with Biosecurity Queensland, Tablelands Regional Council and local stakeholders  Burnett River Lungfish working group formed with Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Seqwater and working with environment groups to determine priorities in how we can assist with maintaining and improving if possible, lungfish population  Local Management Arrangements (LMA) o St George transitioned 30 June 2018 and o Theodore transitioned on 30 September 2018 o Emerald will transition on 30 June 2019 o Eton progressing and likely to transition – vote mid-2019, transition late 2019. o Lower Mary and Bundaberg schemes will not proceed with LMA (their choice) o Burdekin and Mareeba will not transfer at this stage

Page 2 of 10 Department of Natural Resources Mines & Energy

With James Purtill having other commitments we were joined by Dan Harris, Director Innovation, Science & Water Policy Programs, Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy who gave a presentation on current issues in DNRME.

Introduction A little bit about me. I started with the department in year 2000 as a cadet hydrographer working out of the Rockhampton Office. I spent several years chasing floods and avoiding crocodiles before I took up an opportunity to do Water Planning work. This led to further opportunities and I ended up in Brisbane working on water resource planning where I remained until January of 2011. Following the 2011 floods I was seconded into a position assisting the department in its dealings with the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. I remained working on implementation of the recommendations for several years before I ended up in the position I am in today as the Director of Innovation, Science and Water Policy Programs. As you can see I have nearly 20 years working in the water sector with the Queensland Government. Today I am going to speak about some key areas of water management in the department and focus in on achievement over the past 12 months and challenges facing the department in the year ahead. The main areas I will focus on are the:  Rural Water Management Program  Water Planning Achievements and Challenges  Regional Water Supply Security  Completion of the Great Artesian Basin bore census. Rural Water Management Program In 2017, following the four corners expose regarding water theft in New South Wales the Queensland Government instigated an independent audit into water measurement and compliance. At the same time the Murray Darling Basin Authority instigated a water compliance review. As a result of the recommendations from these reviews the department commenced the Rural Water Management Program. Although not part of the audit recommendations, the Rural Water Management Program is also implementing improvements to water trading which is aimed at better use of unallocated water and improvements to water utilisation. Under the rural water management program areas of focus include Strengthened metering and measurements, transparent water information, appropriate regulatory frameworks and robust compliance. The Murray Darling basin is considered a priority for this work to occur. Over the last 12 months the rural water management program has made significant strides forward including:  Regulatory amendments  Water measurement policy proposals developed  Updating of metering standards to align more clearly to the Australian Standard.  Investigating using alternate technologies for capturing water use

Page 3 of 10 such as Lidar technology, and  Building a water accounting prototype The Queensland section of the Murray Darling Basin is the highest priority in Queensland in terms of risk and water users will be required to meet metering requirements by 2022 for surface water entitlements and 2025 for groundwater licenses. Over the next 12 months the rural water management program will be undertaking the actions and milestones such as:  Finalisation of measurement policy and metering standards  Subsequent regulatory enhancements  Introduction of a regulatory assurance role for water plans and compliance. First annual report published by September 2019  First stages of metering implemented in QMDB  Commence build of new water accounting system, including the ability to accept telemetered data from water users meters Water Planning Achievements and Challenges Moving on from the Rural Water Management Program I would now like to highlight some of the achievements and challenges for Water Planning area of the business. New Queensland Murray-Darling Basin Plans commenced in February this year after extensive technical assessments and consultation. The new plans build on the success of previous plans and incorporate extensive new hydrological and ecological science. The plans now provide for management of all surface water, overland flow and groundwater in accordance with the sustainability requirements of the Basin Plan, including sustainable diversion limits. Extensive consultation occurred with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, industry and other stakeholder groups during plan development to ensure issues were identified early and were dealt with during the planning process. The new plans provide for a significant expansion of water markets with creation of 277 groundwater allocations and 271 surface water allocations as well as new trading rules. Unprecedented consultation was undertaken with 13 Aboriginal Nations to better understand and recognise Aboriginal cultural values and uses of water including through dedicated unallocated water reserves. Upcoming challenges include implementing the water plans and dealing with other emerging priorities in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin and elsewhere. The department is continuing to liaise with the Commonwealth to support accreditation of Queensland water plans as compliant with the Basin Plan. The department is running a large project to review and improve consistency and transparency of overland flow management and measurement, with priority being the Queensland Murray-Darling. This is very challenging given the different infrastructure configurations out there, but new technologies are likely to help. The new plans identify unallocated water reserves and also include

Page 4 of 10 measures which commit timeframes for release of unallocated water. We now need to determine the best way to release this water including Aboriginal unallocated water reserves. No Aboriginal unallocated water reserves have yet been released in Queensland, so this is a really important opportunity. Meeting commitments to improved measurement metering and compliance under the Rural Water Management Program and Basin Compliance Compact is a challenge and a departmental priority. There are ongoing negotiations with Commonwealth and New South Wales about how to implement Northern Basin toolkit measures – a $180 million program of environmental works and measures to complement water recovery efforts, particularly targeted at improving outcomes for native fish This links to work to better understand and respond to mass fish deaths as seen in Lower Darling early this year. Qld has been participating in a number of technical workshops to assist the independent panel on fish deaths as well as establish a new Native fish strategy. We are nearing finalisation of another 2 planning projects with an amendment to the Burdekin plan and a first generation plan for Cape York in final approvals. The Burdekin targeted amendment will see 146 tradeable water allocations established for the Catchments upstream of Burdekin Falls Dam. This amendment will set up a water market for agricultural operators in the Charters Towers area. Our regional colleagues tell us that they already know of about a dozen trades they anticipate to be transacted in the first few months of the plan commencement. In terms of Cape York, we have done our very best to recognise the intent of the Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act to help Tradition Owners to achieve social and economic aspirations. In an Australian first, the responsibility for 485,000 megalitres of water will be handed to Traditional Owners on the Cape York to use, contract out to third parties for use or to keep them unused. The choices about the projects they want to see on their country are theirs under the Cape York plan. Localised flow Conditions and land suitability tests will protect the environment while supporting local communities and bringing with it cultural and employment opportunities. The plan framework also establishes about 30 tradeable water allocations and manages risks around overland flow water and groundwater development. Our focus for next year will be to finalise the Moreton targeted amendment to incorporate the Central Lockyer Water Supply Scheme into the planning framework. There have been many attempts but in November last year, for the first time we reached the stage of releasing a draft plan. We heard some critical feedback from the community but worked quickly with community and industry leaders to find areas of common ground and have been building on that since.

We are now preparing a new draft amendment plan for the Minister and aim

Page 5 of 10 to finalise our work by the end of 2019. In parallel we are preparing a Strategic Business Case to identify any viable options for further investigation for bringing additional water to the broader Lockyer Valley. Many different organisations and consultants have been looking at this problem over many years. What we are trying to do is take things to a conclusion in partnership with all stakeholders so that we all accept and agree to the outcome and actions for moving forward are assigned to organisations. We are working to finalise this strategic business case alongside the Moreton targeted plan amendment. This next financial year will involve us moving into pre-planning work for many parts of the States such as Pioneer Valley, Barron, Burdekin, Mary. We are also preparing for an amendment to the Fitzroy plan in coming years to integrate a new Rookwood Weir into the plan framework. We will also continue to partner with industry to develop a strategy for addressing rising groundwater and salinisation in the lower Burdekin. Legislation Changes Moving on from water planning we have progressed legislation amendments over the past 12 months. The Mineral, Water and Other Legislation Amendment Act was debated and passed in Late October 2018. The water amendments in this Act provide for consideration of climate change in water planning and cultural outcomes in water plans. New powers allow water quality incidents to be appropriately responded to where a water planning framework is in place. There are also new provisions for the chief executive to temporarily release strategic water infrastructure reserves. Other Act enhancements were included to support Queensland’s Murray Darling Basin Water Plans, and to make operational and administrative improvements. Another piece of legislation that is currently moving through the house is the Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill or NROLA which amends 18 separate pieces of legislation and contains miscellaneous urban and rural water related amendments. Other NROLA inclusions relate to the Rural Water Management Program including clarifying offence provisions, improving the value of compliance notices, providing for joint and several liability, improving regulation-making powers in relation to meters and making operational and administrative improvements. The Parliamentary committee handed down their report on 18 April, recommending the Bill be passed. The Bill is expected to be debated in the 2nd quarter 2019 calendar year. Regional Water Supply Security Assessments I would now like to turn my attention to regional water security assessments. The department works with councils and water service providers to better understand the ability of current water supply systems to supply water for future growth in regional urban areas. Population growth as well as challenges from droughts and ageing infrastructure highlight the ongoing importance of water security planning. Some local governments have requested our assistance with water supply

Page 6 of 10 security planning. The Regional Water Supply Security Assessment program is a partnership, providing a shared understanding of the potential water supply security risks for prioritised communities. Each assessment provides an overview of the capability of the existing water sources during different rainfall events for projected population growth and water demands. Hydrologic modelling is used to assess the performance of the bulk water supply in meeting forecast demands. Local governments and water service providers remain responsible for deciding what should be done and implementing actions to provide an appropriate level of water security for their communities. In all, the department has completed 18 regional water supply security assessments and have partnered with 15 councils. More recently, over the past 12 months the department has partnered with councils to complete two regional water supply security assessments for Mossman/Port Douglas and Chinchilla local governments. We have also advanced the preparation of the first groundwater Regional Water Supply Security Assessment for Atherton. This incorporates new groundwater assessment methodologies and tools to undertake this assessment. Due for completion by end of June. We have also assisted councils to improve understanding of their water supplies, including assisting Southern Downs in developing strategies for immediate and long-term water supply needs Furthermore, we have contributed to the ongoing delivery of the Townsville City Deal, in particular to the work of the Townsville Water Security Taskforce and to the delivery of measures for improving Townsville’s water supply security. While on the subject of water security in regional Queensland the State Government is committed to the construction of Rookwood Weir. Rookwood Weir will improve water security for the Rockhampton and Gladstone communities, and provide opportunities for more agricultural and industrial development in the region. It will provide up to 42 000 megalitres of high priority water for agricultural and industrial customers, and 34 000 megalitres of urban and industrial water for customers in Gladstone and the Capricorn Coast. The final business case indicates that total costs to construct the weir will be $352 million and the operating and maintenance costs are estimated to be around $35 million over 30 years. To demonstrate its commitment, the Queensland Government has budgeted $176 million over the next four years for construction of the weir with the remaining $176 million to be provided by the federal government. SEQ Water Security While I am talking about water supply security I thought it would be topical to raise what is happening in South East Queensland.

Page 7 of 10 You may have seen that drought messaging commenced recently at 70 per cent of the combined storage of the SEQ strategic water supply dams. If levels in the dam continue to be drawn down, when they reach a combined level of 60 per cent the Gold Coast Desalination Plant will go into to full production and the recommissioning of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme will commence. The drought response at these levels will be for target 150 litres per person per day at 60 per cent and target 140 litres per person per day at 50 per cent combined storage. With dam levels currently sitting at 70 per cent we are still a little way of hitting these triggers, but we need to be mindful that we are now heading into the dryer part of the year. Great Artesian Basin Recently we completed a significant project which was a census of the artesian bores in the Queensland section of the Great Artesian Basin. The aim of the census was to quantify remaining rehabilitation works to make the Great Artesian Basin watertight and to get an understanding of the estimated costs and possible water savings. The census assessed 850 bores across 318 owners. What the census found was there were approximately 179 bores remaining to be capped and just under 4000 kilometres of bore drains to be piped. An interesting finding from the census was of the 412 controlled bores 137 of the bores were watertight i.e. capped and piped. Why this is interesting is because capping and piping works have been typically government funded through programs such as the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative. The 137 bores that are capped and piped have been done so at the property owner’s expense without any government funding. The potential water savings for the GAB from completing the remaining the capping and piping works is estimated at about 90,000ML and the rehabilitation cost is expected to be up to an estimated $130 million. The challenges ahead for the rehabilitating the remaining bores and bore drains in the Queensland section of the Great Artesian Basin are resources (i.e. funding), community and land owner engagement in the process and completing the works in a timely manner to meet water plan objectives.

Minutes: The Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 28 April 2018 had been distributed to members prior to the meeting and copies were available at the meeting.

Moved Rolf Rose, Seconded Ian Pullar, that the Minutes be accepted as a true record of the meeting. Carried

Business The proposed changes to the Constitution regarding members over 75 Arising from the years of age were approved by the Office of Fair Trading and the Minutes implementation will be covered in the Treasurer’s Report.

President’s The President, Peter Gilbey, presented his Report to the Meeting. A copy of Report the Report is attached.

Page 8 of 10 The President advised of the passing away of Nev Caton, Rob Ellis, Bill Fosset and Joan Clark. Other colleagues who passed away are Trevor (Butch) Lawrance, Mike Wilke, Kel Roberts, Mick Williams and Tony Niewenhaus.

Moved Peter Gilbey, Seconded Hein van der Heide, that the President’s Report be received. Carried

Treasurer’s The Treasurer’s Report (Copy attached) had been sent to Members prior to Report: the meeting and copies were available at the Meeting.

Daryl Brigden has undertaken a due diligence check on the books submitted to the AGM. Treasurers Financial Report for 2018/19 has been signed by the President and will be sent to the Office of Fair Trading once accepted at the AGM.

The Treasurer explained the process where members over 75 no longer have to apply for Paid Up status and the new Member Subscription Notice provides for voluntary contributions if an over 75 member wishes to.

Under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 and because WRRA income is not associated with either poker machines or collections from the general public, the Association is classed as an ‘Other Level 3 Incorporated Association’ where annual financial reporting requirements to the AGM and the Office of Fair Trading are met by a ‘Signed Statement’ coming from either the President or the Treasurer.

Moved Gary Corbett, Seconded Rolf Rose, that the Treasurer’s report be accepted and cheques payed and transfers be endorsed. Carried

Election of The President, Peter Gilbey, stood down from the Chair and all positions Office Bearers were declared vacant. Since Mike Merrin, Past President, was not at the AGM Ian Pullar, Editor, took over the proceedings of the Meeting.

Written nominations had been received from the following members and no further nominations were received from the meeting.

Peter Gilbey for President (Brigden/Rose) Elected Daryl Brigden for Vice-President (Rose/Gilbey) Elected Gary Corbett for Treasurer (Rose/Gilbey) Elected Rolf Rose for Secretary (Pearce/Gilbey) Elected Bruce Pearce for Committee Member (Rose/Gilbey) Elected Rob Herd for Committee Member (Pearce/Gilbey) Elected

The two other positions on the Committee, Newsletter Editor (currently held by Ian Pullar) and Web Master (currently held by Warren Shallcross) are appointed by the Committee and are not elected by the AGM.

Co-Patrons James Purtill (DNRME) and Nicole Hollows (SunWater) would continue as Co-Patrons.

Page 9 of 10 General No issues were raised Business Ian Pullar, Editor, mentioned that he is interested in articles for the Newsletter.

Meeting closed 12.45 PM and Members and Guests proceeded to the Beer Garden for lunch provided by the Association.

______Rolf Rose Peter Gilbey Minutes Secretary Chair

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