CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr CONROY (Shortland—Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Minister for Defence Industry) (09:33): Today I rise with some fantastic news for the Lake Macquarie community. Last month I stood on the jetty at Pelican with Mayor Shultz, state ministers Catley and Aitchison and community members to welcome our new and permanent dredge for Lake Macquarie. This is thanks to a $10 million investment by the Albanese Labor government.
We've delivered the dredge, and it will be up and running by the end of this month. For too long, the enjoyment of Lake Macquarie has been compromised by the build-up of silt and sand in the channel, which has made it unpredictable and sometimes unsafe for people to navigate. Fisherpeople, boaties and yachties would become stuck on the sandbars, a potentially dangerous situation, placing pressure on our Lake Macquarie marine rescue volunteers, which is the busiest marine rescue unit on the east coast.
Stewart from Lake Macquarie marine rescue said: For us, it will reduce the number of vessels that we have to pull off the sand when the water gets really shallow. We at one stage were bringing off nearly one a day. Some days we were taking three yachts off the sand.
In fact, in certain years, half of all Lake Macquarie marine rescues were allocated to pulling people off sandbars. That's why, ahead of the 2022 federal election, I committed to securing $10 million needed for a new and permanent dredge. The dredge, named Tuirkulliko, an Awabakal word meaning 'to drag along' or 'to draw', will provide a long-term solution to the recurring build-up in Swansea channel.
When the dredge is fully operational it will establish a 60-metre wide and three-metre deep channel, and will send around 1,000 cubic metres of sand each day to our local beaches to help prevent erosion—a true win-win solution. Improving access to the channel will help unlock new opportunities for local businesses and industry, and encourage greater use of the lake for boating and recreation.
It will support increased tourism to our area and strengthen the local economy. It will also contribute to the health of Lake Macquarie's marine ecosystems. Improving water flows will help healthy estuaries, which are important for supporting marine biodiversity, including fish, shorebirds, algae and plant species.
This has been a long-running concern for the people of Lake Macquarie who've called for a permanent solution for this issue. I was proud to deliver this dredge, even though it's not typically something federal governments do. We worked in conjunction with local and state governments to deliver a solution that will allow everyone in our community to enjoy the largest saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere.
The dredge will also be lent out to other local communities to help with dredging their lakes. I'm proud to have stood up for our community to deliver $10 million for the permanent dredge. This investment by the Albanese Labor government means our lake remains safe and accessible for locals, improves the health of our beautiful lake and means we can all get out onto the water and enjoy our little slice of heaven.