House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Water Pricing Water Pricing Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Leader of the Opposition Water Pricing Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:51): Supplementary to the Treasurer: how much of the 236 per cent increase in the average water bills under this government is due to the double-sized desalination plant and the fact that it has now been mothballed? The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Finance Minister for State Development Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Minister for Small Business Water Pricing The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:51): This cup holds desalinated water, Mr Speaker. I have to say, whenever this government embarks on building infrastructure the first person to criticise us is the Leader of the Opposition. When he first became Leader of the Opposition, he gave a very important speech about his vision for South Australia. He said that every time we spend money on infrastructure it is a false economy spending; it is not real economy because the money will eventually run out. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order. Mr PISONI House of Assembly Mr PISONI: The minister is not responsible for the Leader of the Opposition. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Over the last 12 years, this government has been investing in upgrades to pipelines, we have invested in the desal plant, we have invested in better infrastructure. We have invested in infrastructure to make sure that we can maintain a level and standard that we are all accustomed to, to make sure that businesses have access to water when they need it. We have also spent money on saving the River Murray. We have also spent money on buying water allocations. We have also spent money, through the dividends we have received, on our hospitals and our schools. I understand that every time we spend money on public infrastructure a little part of them dies. A little part of them gets upset when we spend money on hospitals, on schools, on infrastructure and on water security, but I will get a detailed breakdown for the house.