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Desalination plant under
construction
The $2 billion desalination plant being proposed by
the State Government to solve Sydney's water crisis
could be operated by a private company which would
sell the water back to consumers.
The plan for the plant is due to go to cabinet next
week. Fourteen possible sites have been identified
for the plant, which could provide up to one third
of the city's water - 500 million litres a day.
However, the Greens and environment groups raised
alarm bells about the project, claiming the plant was
five times larger than proposals first mooted last
year.
As a result, it would produce in the vicinity of 1
million tonnes of greenhouse gasses annually, they
claimed.
"A desalination plant producing 100 million litres
of water a day would create more greenhouse emissions
that 50,000 new cars on the road," Greens MP Ian
Cohen said.
The Government must instead make recycling stormwater
and sewage the priority."
Mr Sartor said the Government needed to be prepared
to build a desalination plant if dam levels dropped
from their current 41.2 per cent level of capacity
to 30 per cent.
South Australia to benefit
from tourist boom
South Australia is well set to cash in on a predicted
boom in tourists from China.
Visitors from China are anticipated to become the
biggest source of tourism income to Australia by 2014.
They would be worth $5.9 billion a year.
Chinese tourists brought $1.2 billion in spending
in 2004, and are expected to increase up to $5.9
billion
a year in the coming decade.
The forecast was released at the annual Australian
Tourism Export Council symposium in Alice Springs yesterday
by Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey.
The value of inbound tourism to Australia would reach
$32.1 billion in 2014, compared to $18.5 billion this
year. "Tourism already earns us more export dollars
than coal and wool combined," Bailey said.
The current leader in tourism value is the
UK, which was worth $2.8 billion last year. More Australians becoming
self-employed
A record number of Australians are running small businesses
from their homes in pursuit of cheaper overheads
and a better balance between work and family life.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal
the number of people operating home businesses exceeded
a million for the first time last year.
Home businesses have experienced an explosion in recent
years. In 1997, 466,100 businesses engaged 722,600
people. By June last year, this increased to 856,200
businesses engaging 1,039,700 people.
With more workers setting up their own home businesses,
trade union memberships went down from 2,376,000 in
1993 to 1,842,100 last year, with only 23 per cent
of employees being members of trade unions last year.
Many home-based operators claim they are more productive
working from home and getting that work-life balance
is important to people.
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