House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Water Pricing WATER PRICING Mr HAMILTON-SMITH House of Assembly Waite Leader of the Opposition WATER PRICING Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): My question is to the Premier. What will be the extent of further increases in water prices on top of those previously announced to recoup the unbudgeted $228 million the state government will spend on doubling the desalination plant? What will the price increases be and when will consumers be charged? The Premier stated on 5 December 2007: The extent of future increases can only be determined once the financial contribution from the Rudd federal government is negotiated. The government announced yesterday that it would match the $228 million from the federal government with $228 million of its own, and the Treasurer previously advised on radio on 11 March that increases were expected to be contained to double water prices within five years. The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD House of Assembly Chaffey Minister for the River Murray Minister for Water Security WATER PRICING The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (14:06): The answer to that question is yes. We have made it very clear that water prices will be going up as a consequence of the significant investment this state is making in the water security of future generations of this state. In fact, in the next four years we will have a capital works program from SA Water of the order of just under $4 billion, which is quite an extraordinary investment. The prices, as we know, from 1 July will be going up by 17.9 per cent, and the actual increase that will be incurred as a consequence of the expansion to the desalination plant will be determined in the next little while. They will come into effect in the 2011-12 year most likely, given that the initial plant will be established to 50 gigalitres. The extra modules will be added as the project develops, and the extra expenditure will occur later in the construction phase. We will bring that information to the house once we have worked through the detail of that, and we will provide an extensive outline to the general public on what the price increases are likely to be.