POINT LOWLY DESALINATION PLANT

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:17): I rise to speak today about the proposed BHP desalination plant at Point Lowly. There has been much discussion, particularly over the last few days, regarding BHP's plan to deposit saline discharge into the Spencer Gulf, off Point Lowly. In my maiden speech, I made a commitment to represent the constituents of Flinders without fear or favour. Overwhelmingly, what I am hearing from the residents of Eyre Peninsula is that they have very grave concerns about the impact that the outflow from this plant could have on the ecology of the gulf and the existing businesses that operate in that gulf.

It has been interesting to watch the BHP proposal to expand Olympic Dam unfold over the last few years. BHP has recently modified the proposed outflow from the desal plant essentially to address concerns raised in the public consultation period. More recently, we have received notice that the prawn fishing industry had undertaken its own scientific review of BHP's supplementary EIS. That report has raised legitimate questions about the potential impact on prawn stocks in the gulf.

There are 42 prawn fishing licences in South Australia, and 39 of these boats fish in Spencer Gulf. The remaining three are on the West Coast. The prawn fishery has been operating for many years as a well-maintained fishery—world's best, even, as are all the fisheries here in South Australia. There is yet another report to be made public in the near future, and that is to come from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). I believe that this report will provide yet another comprehensive critique of the proposal and I look forward to reading it. I understand we are still waiting for the government to make this report public.

Ultimately my role in this place is to represent the views of my constituents, and I would like to put on the record that overwhelmingly those constituents are of the opinion that this is not an appropriate site to discharge into the gulf.

BHP has done an enormous amount of work on this and has deemed Point Lowly the best location in terms of what is best for the environment. Equally, the prawn fishing industry has raised significant concerns about the environmental impact this project could have on prawn stocks. As the local member, I am mindful of the importance of the seafood industry to the Eyre Peninsula and to the state generally. BHP is also mindful of its environmental obligations, and it needs to get it absolutely right when it comes to the gulf.