House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Desalination Plant Desalination Plant The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Desalination Plant The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:58): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier received a written commitment from the commonwealth Treasurer that the desalination payments will be excluded from Commonwealth Grants Commission assessments for payments to the state? Can the Premier advise the house whether the federal Treasurer has issued this direction to the Commonwealth Grants Commission? The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Premier Desalination Plant The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:58): I'm happy to make that inquiry of the Treasurer, but what I will say is that incorporated into the principles of the agreement, which came from the Prime Minister's office, South Australia will be no worse off from this deal. Importantly, it was clear that this was not something where we could essentially gain from the system, so it wasn't an opportunity for us to make a windfall gain, and we were happy to accept that because we wanted to play our part in the national effort to support our farmers who are doing it tough through these drought conditions. But I wasn't prepared to sign up to any deal that would disadvantage the taxpayers of South Australia. That was incorporated into the principles which came from the Prime Minister's office.