EDWARDSTOWN GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:07): I do not know why the Minister for Environment and Conservation took the question. I specifically asked: if they had not been involved since August 2009 when did the health department become involved?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:07): I am happy to try to assist the member. I am not aware of any complaints from people from that area in relation to health problems. Though I imagine that within the Edwardstown area there have been some people who have been ill over the last year and a bit, whether or not those illnesses can be associated with drinking bore water I am not sure, but if they did drink bore water they would be doing so against the express recommendations of the health department, which was read to the house just a few minutes ago by the minister.

In fact, the health department says if you have available water you should not be accessing bore water—for a whole range of things, including drinking, personal contact and vegetable gardens and the like. So, if people were drinking bore water it was a very unwise thing for them to be doing. But I can ask my department to see whether or not we have had any examples of people who have consumed or been in contact with bore water who have had an illness.