Personal Explanation

DESALINATION PLANT

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (12:01): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P. CAICA: A question was asked yesterday by the deputy opposition leader:

...can you confirm that $125 million was paid from SA Water to Treasury—$125 million—which otherwise would have been used to pay for construction costs? It was not paid to AdelaideAqua because of delays to the construction.

In my answer, I inadvertently confirmed the deputy opposition leader's incorrect assertion that $125 million remained unpaid at the end of the 2010-11 financial year because of construction delays and was paid into the Treasury account. In fact, that money was not borrowed from the market for that year and therefore there was no transfer of that amount to the Treasury account due to the underspend of $125 million on the construction costs of the Adelaide Desalination Plant for the 2010-11 financial year.