Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (14:10): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: South Australia's economy is changing. While traditional manufacturing is in decline, food production continues to thrive. Today, one in five working South Australians is employed in the agribusiness sector. The Northern Adelaide Plains are home to one of the largest covered vegetable cropping regions in Australia. The state government recognises investment in the region is needed now to ensure the horticulture industry has access to the large volumes of affordable, high security water it needs to increase production and attract new investment.

Yesterday morning, at the Adelaide produce markets, I joined the Premier and the Minister for Water (Hon. Ian Hunter), local members of parliament (the member for Napier and the member for Light) and the Hon. Tung Ngo from the upper house, as well as horticulture industry representatives Angelo Demasi, Susie Green, Bryan Robertson, Jordan Brooke-Barnett and Craig Katz, and Anthony Penney from Business SA, to announce the state government's commitment to invest $110 million in the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme, should our bid to the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund be successful.

The state government recently submitted an application to the Australian government's National Water Infrastructure Development Fund for $45.6 million to help fund the major irrigation project and expand the Northern Adelaide Plains irrigated food production area. I have a good working relationship with the federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, and the assistant minister, Anne Ruston, whom I would like to thank for her cooperation across so many different areas in South Australia. I am hopeful that the federal government will make a valuable contribution to the scheme.

We are now one step closer to being able to implement this exciting scheme, which will deliver large volumes of affordable recycled water to the Northern Adelaide Plains to support increased horticulture production and exports, transforming the region into the national leader in intensive, high-tech food production. The combined investment of $155.6 million would be used to upgrade the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant to produce an additional 12 gigalitres of recycled water a year suitable for irrigation, an increase of 60 per cent. It would build a recycled water distribution infrastructure to the area north of the Gawler River and enable a major new irrigation area to be constructed, including high-tech, high-value, intensive food production.

The infrastructure would be designed and built to enable future expansion as demand increases and access to export markets continues to grow. Additional investment in time would enable the development of infrastructure to deliver a total of 20 gigalitres of recycled water a year from the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant, expanding the region's horticulture industry and piping irrigation water to the Barossa.

There is strong industry interest in purchasing recycled water through the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme. Primary Industries and Regions SA and SA Water will continue to work with proponents, industry groups and growers to determine how they can participate in the scheme, ensuring delivery of the greatest state benefit through the water allocation.

As fisheries minister, I am thrilled that we are making an investment that will also reduce impacts on Gulf St Vincent's marine environment by making better use of recycled wastewater. A decision on the Australian government's funding support is expected to be announced mid-2017. Subject to receiving the funding, construction will begin later this year, with the aim of recycled water flowing to irrigators from December 2018. An independent economic assessment has identified that 12 gigalitres of recycled water a year would create 3,700 jobs, attract $1.1 billion in private investment and add $578 million a year to the state's economy.

At full expansion, 20 gigalitres of recycled water a year would create up to 6,000 jobs, attract $2 billion in private investment and add more than $1 billion a year to the state economy. The Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme supports the Northern Economic Plan by creating jobs for the Northern Adelaide Plains and outer northern suburbs of Adelaide, and it aligns with the state government's economic priorities of premium food and wine produced in our clean environment and exported to the world, growth through innovation and unlocking our resources, energy and renewables. The project has been developed by Primary Industries and Regions South Australia in partnership with SA Water who are working constructively with the horticultural sector.

Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in getting it to this point. The success of the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme will be a game-changer for modern horticulture in South Australia. It will support existing industry to expand and become more competitive, as well as driving employment growth and attracting new skills and talent into South Australia.