DESALINATION PLANT

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): My question is again to the Minister for Water. Why were payments made under the operation and maintenance contract for the desal plant prior to handover of the first stage of the plant, which should have followed performance and reliability testing by the commissioning team after first water was achieved? Payments under the operation and maintenance contract started on 8 July 2009, almost two years before first water was achieved in November 2011.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:23): Just to help the member for MacKillop (if anyone is capable of doing that), a lot of arrangements were put in place to ensure that the desalination plant was, and I am happy to report is, on schedule to be completed at the due date—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The question was specifically about operation and maintenance payments which have been paid by the government for nearly two years before first water was achieved.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. The minister can answer the question as he chooses. We will wait to hear the entire answer.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I will also say this: there were certain arrangements put in place to ensure, amongst other things, proper adherence to safety and to improve safety on the site—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: Payments were made for a variety of areas to ensure that the completion of this project would be on schedule and on budget. All those payments—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop, order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: The initial date still stands for completion in December 2012. Unless the member for MacKillop is deaf, I have said that on numerous occasions and we are on schedule.

Mr Williams: That doesn't make it right.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Williams: Just because you said it doesn't make it right.

The Hon. P. CAICA: No; what it does, Madam Speaker, is it makes the member for MacKillop wrong. That's different. We get an enormous amount of FOIs from the opposition on numerous occasions.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: What we do know is that it takes an enormous amount of resources to compile those FOIs and the likes of that and, as I have said to my friend the member for Stuart and others over there, just get on the phone and give me a ring and I will give you most of the information anyway. When I cannot, I will tell you that I cannot but I have certainly made that offer to many over there.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: Listen, I will offer you a briefing so you get a better understanding—sorry, Madam Speaker, not you, because you do understand. I will offer the member for MacKillop a briefing on anything he wants so that he will get a better understanding of the true situation.