Water Recovery Socio-economic Criteria

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. What advice did the minister receive from the Coorong and/or Alexandrina councils regarding the socio-economic criteria before he decided to agree to them?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:58): Could the deputy leader repeat that question, please?

Dr CLOSE: I certainly can. What advice did the minister receive from the Coorong and/or Alexandrina councils regarding the socio-economic criteria before he decided to agree to them?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I have regular conversations with the Alexandrina Council and the district council of Coorong about a range of matters.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Those councils represent communities where the river's health is of critical importance to them. Of course, those communities are communities that will benefit hugely from the 450 gigalitres of water, and that is why they are so relieved that we now have a pathway to that 450 gigalitres, exemplified by the deputy leader's statement that we have 62 gigalitres coming and that they got one gigalitre under Labor. In fact—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —it has been great, in particular—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Could the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition please cease interjecting at each other.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: It has been great on numerous occasions to work alongside the Minister for Regional Development to visit not only the Riverland region that he is so closely associated with but the Alexandrina and Coorong region as well. Those Riverland regions, the Coorong regions and the areas surrounded by the Lower Lakes, represented by the member for MacKillop, the member for Finniss, the member for Hammond and, of course, the member for Chaffey, are so enthusiastic that we have this pathway towards the 450. I know that the feedback the member for Finniss, the member for MacKillop—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —the member for Chaffey and the member for Hammond are receiving is that thank goodness a government has come to power that has left the politics at the door, stopped the gimmicks, stopped the grandstanding—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —and stopped the political games because that is what we have had. We have sat down and negotiated because when you sit down and negotiate you get outcomes, you get real water and those communities are celebrating. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak just a couple of weeks ago with both the senior management and the elected representatives of both Alexandrina Council and the Coorong District Council about the Coorong project, the $70 million that we managed to secure from those state funds. We were able to specifically argue that the Coorong was a landscape that needed extra resilience and extra support.

Mr Picton: It needs some water.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: It absolutely needs water. You know what? It's getting 450 gigalitres. These communities are crying out—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —for the Coorong project to be unfolded in the coming years. Why? Because not only will it deliver them water, not only will it deliver these great communities—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Primary Industries and the leader will cease interjecting. They will be talking about this outside.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Not only will it deliver these communities water but it will give them opportunities around economic development, whether that is tourism or establishing and expanding their visitor economy. I went just a few days ago with minister Ridgway to look at a Coorong Murray trail that is being developed, all things that will thrive and survive as a result of water coming into that area.

My regular discussions since I became a minister and before with the Coorong council and the Alexandrina Council absolutely help inform the decisions that I make as minister. There was fear and sadness that the previous government was completely unable to deliver any additional water to their backyards.