National Sewerage Program

National Sewerage Program
Type of projectPublic works
CountryAustralia
Prime Minister(s)
Ministry
Key peopleTom Uren
Launched1972; 52 years ago (1972)
Closed30 August 1977; 47 years ago (1977-08-30)
BudgetAUD$330 million
StatusClosed

The National Sewerage Program was an Australian federal program under the Whitlam and Fraser governments[2] established to provide funding for the expansion of municipal sewerage systems.[3] At the time Australia was lagging behind other developed nations[4][5] and, as of the commencement of the program in 1972, 17.2% of the Australian population were not connected to sewerage.[6] Even in major population centers like Sydney and Melbourne, there was a backlog of over 318,000 homes waiting to be connected to municipal sewerage systems.[7] The program was administered by the newly formed Department of Urban and Regional Development, and over AUD$330 million of funding was allocated to be distributed to individual states and territories over ten years.[8][6] Over the life of the program the sewerage connection backlog was reduced by 30% to 40%.[7] The program was abolished in 1977 by the incumbent Fraser government.[9][10] Consequently, many communities struggled to connect to sewerage for decades afterwards.[11]

  1. ^ NATIONAL SETTLEMENT DIVISION (Report). Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development. 1976-06-30. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  2. ^ "sunday TIMESTYLE The Whitlam legacy — unburied by seven years of Fraserism". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 1985-11-03. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  3. ^ Drum, The (2014-10-21). "Things you didn't know Gough Whitlam did". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  4. ^ Davidson, Helen (2014-10-21). "Gough Whitlam – in his own words". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  5. ^ "Wastewater treatment (% population connected)". stats.oecd.org. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  6. ^ a b DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 1973-74 (Annual Report) (Report). Department of Urban and Regional Development. 1974-06-30. pp. 39–40. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  7. ^ a b Murphy, Damien (2014-10-21). "Gough Whitlam left a long list of achievements". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  8. ^ "Gough Whitlam — Prime Ministers". Australian Prime Ministers. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  9. ^ "Budget hits job chances". Broadcaster (Fairfield, NSW : 1935 - 1978). 1977-08-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  10. ^ "ELECTIONS 1980 FRASER GOVT: lies, lies, lies, lies and more lies". Woroni (Canberra, ACT : 1950 - 2007). 1980-10-02. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  11. ^ "Local governments 'need more funds'". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 1985-02-27. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-01-18.