On 29 July 2006, the

City of Toowoomba 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 , and existed as a local governmen ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia held a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the controversial issue of using

recycled water Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting Sewage, municipal wastewater (sewage) or Industrial wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a vari ...

from the city's sewers as a source for drinking water. This proposal, the public debate, the referendum and associated campaigns for both the "Yes" and "No" positions, attracted statewide and national interest. The "Yes" position, championed by the

mayor of Toowoomba This is a list of mayors of the City of Toowoomba and the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In March 2008 the City of Toowoomba was amalgamated with the Shires of Crows Nest, Rosalie, Jondaryan, Cambooya, Clifton, Millmerran, and P ...

Di Thorley Dianne "Di" Thorley (born 1 December 1949 in Stanthorpe, Queensland) is an Australian politician and a former mayor of Toowoomba, Queensland. Biography Thorley trained as a nurse in Brisbane and later took up a nursing position at Stanthorpe Ho ...

, and backed by the council staff and Toowoomba Water Futures project, faced opposition from a minority of councillors led by Councillor

Lyle Shelton Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline ...

(Who unsuccessfully ran as a National Party candidate for Toowoomba North in the

2006 Queensland state election An election was held in the Australian state of Queensland on 9 September 2006 to elect the 89 members of the state's Legislative Assembly, after being announced by Premier Peter Beattie on 15 August 2006. The election saw the incumbent Labor ...

) and former mayor and MLA for Toowoomba South

Clive Berghofer Clive John Berghofer (born 4 March 1935) is an Australian property developer, politician and philanthropist. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, Alderman and Mayor of Toowoomba. Early life Clive Berghofer was born on 4 May 1 ...

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 The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

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 A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

, 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 Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

who tied federal funding exclusively to the recycling project.

and two other councilors switched to opposing the proposal, as did Ian Macfarlane saying that "No" campaigner, millionaire property developer

"had a right to be heard". 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. 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 Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...

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.

References

{{WaterQueensland , state=autocollapse Referendums in Queensland Toowoomba Water management in Queensland 2000s in Queensland 2006 in Australia 2006 referendums