Decision details

Moved by Councillor Chung, seconded by Councillor Scully –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         Clean Waters Oceania is a NSW-based, part Indigenous-owned and at its core, a social enterprise that distributes and manufactures an advanced water technology that requires no piping or electrical infrastructure and utilises solar technology to provide clean renewable drinking water. The technology to be deployed will be the first in the world. The water technology is suitable for a variety of applications, including:

(a)       households, farms, or businesses where there is currently no water service;

(a)       communities where drinking water does not meet community expectations around taste, aesthetics and trust;

(b)       emergency supply and disaster preparedness during droughts, water quality events, and fire to maintain minimum supply; and

(c)       reduction of plastic waste in the community;

(ii)        Clean Waters Oceania is interested in establishing a pop-up short-term showcase demonstration site within the City of Sydney to highlight and showcase their solution to sustainable drinking water;

(iii)      Clean Waters Oceania will share information and research of their technology with the City of Sydney whilst trailing the technology in the Local Government Area and/or allow the City of Sydney to conduct research of their own on the technology. Additionally, research will be conducted by environmental scientist Dr Jeanine Mallela. The technology and research will be fully endorsed by the Australian National University (ANU), Macquarie University and the MQ Incubator program;

(iv)      the City of Sydney has committed to engage with local, national and global networks to share and develop expertise in urban sustainability as part of the Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan;

(v)       temporary installations, like pop-up or demonstration projects to showcase a product or service may fall within the definition of the City’s General Event Guidelines;

(vi)      the City of Sydney has Plans of Management, which outline the appropriate uses of particular public spaces as supported by the community, and so uses must be consistent with these plans; and

(vii)     using some City of Sydney managed parks and public spaces may require approvals or venue hire fees, and the proponent may be eligible to apply for venue hire waivers. Locations like Customs House Square and Martin Place Amphitheatre are high-traffic locations that are already approved for brand activations and marketing, and may lend themselves well to a pop-up showcase event; and

(B)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to write to Clean Waters Oceania to explain the process for seeking approval to use sites managed by the City of Sydney for event and brand activations, and to advise about Grants and Sponsorship opportunities available through the City to support a pop-up demonstration site to showcase the world’s first water generator powered by solar, considering a time-limited activation at appropriate locations which might include Martin Place Amphitheatre, Customs House Forecourt, Sydney Park, Hyde Park, Circular Quay and Town Hall.

Carried unanimously.

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