National Sewerage Program
Australian federal government project
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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] and it was later estimated that, as of the commencement of the program in 1972, 17.2% of the Australian population were not connected to sewerage.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7][5] Over the life of the program the sewerage connection backlog was reduced by 30% to 40%.[6] The program was abolished in 1977 by the incumbent Fraser government.[8][9] Consequently, many communities struggled to connect to sewerage for decades afterwards.[10]
| National Sewerage Program | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type of project | Public works |
| Country | Australia |
| Prime Minister(s) | |
| Ministry | |
| Key people | Tom Uren |
| Launched | 1972 |
| Closed | 30 August 1977 |
| Budget | AUD$330 million |
| Status | Closed |