The pollster told the 1142 respondents that one option to increase water supplies was "to treat sewage and other waste water", that the water would be "safe for drinking and other household purposes" and asked whether they would support or oppose recycled water to supplement supplies. The State Government, which is proposing to build a $1.9 billion desalination plant, has ruled out recycling water on "yuk factor" grounds, citing a UMR Research survey taken two years ago which found that 68 per cent of people were uncomfortable at the prospect.

It asked 600 people if they were "very comfortable, mildly comfortable, mildly uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with drinking recycled sewage, including toilet water, that is treated to drinking-water quality". Only 12 per cent said they were very comfortable, and a further 17 per cent were mildly comfortable. Sixty-eight per cent were uncomfortable. With the Prime Minister, John Howard, fighting to gain control of the debate on water, the Herald poll at the weekend put Labor ahead of the Coalition as the voters' preferred party on water issues.

Labor was preferred by 48 per cent, the Coalition by 34 per cent, and 18 per cent said they did not know. Labor was the best party on the environment and 26 per cent picked the Coalition. This continues a steady trend in favour of Labor since September 2003, when 48 per cent backed Labor and 36 per cent the Coalition on the environment.

Mr Howard, who stumbled in answering a question on climate change last week, was asked yesterday about voters' scepticism of his credibility on climate change issues. He said he was "a realist" on the issue. "I worry that we will be panicked into knee-jerk reactions," Mr Howard said on Channel Nine's Sunday program. "I worry that we might sacrifice some industries with a short-term response." Mr Howard said the Government had pushed a clean coal policy for three years, while Labor's claim to hold the future on climate change was questionable given its refusal to consider nuclear power. He dismissed the offer by the Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, to mediate with the state premiers on his plan for a federal takeover of the Murray-Darling basin.

"The Labor premiers might think they are inflicting pain on me … I ask them not to inflict political pain and water torture on the people of Australia." Mr Rudd yesterday denied that dealing with Australia's dependence on high-polluting, coal-fired power stations would necessarily cost jobs. The country needed a long-term response to climate change that protected the environment and jobs, he said.

"Mr Howard's response has been driven by the fact he has spent his life in politics as a climate change sceptic. He is now trying to be the climate change solution, and people are not buying it," Mr Rudd told Channel Ten's Meet the Press.