Desalination Plant

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:59): My question is again to the Minister for Environment and Water. Will the minister guarantee that he won't allow the Desalination Plant to be used to substitute for any of the 450 gigalitres of environment water?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:59): Again, I thank the deputy leader for her question. It is unlikely that the Desalination Plant would be suitable for an offset to Murray-Darling water from an environmental point of view.

We have said that of course we have that asset sitting down on the cliffs at Port Stanvac, and that asset can be used for the purpose of standing shoulder to shoulder with the drought-affected farmers across this nation, and that is an agreement that the state government has struck with our federal counterparts with agreement from ministerial council ministers. We will certainly not be looking to have the Desalination Plant used as an offset to Murray-Darling water under the 450. We said, though, at the ministerial council on 14 December 2018—

Mr Boyer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Wright!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —that as a matter of goodwill we would undertake a study that would look at the complexities of using the Desalination Plant as a potential 450 project on a temporary or long-term basis. That statement, that commitment to the ministerial council, has been in the public domain for quite some time. We said that we would do that, but we also said that we would never do it in a way that would impact South Australia negatively, whether that is financially, socially or environmentally. I have said regularly that I was very, very cautious about using the Desalination Plant as an environmental offset, or a 450 gigalitre project. It is my feeling that that—

Mr Malinauskas: Why not rule it out?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Of course it would be so easy to rule it out, but we have been going through a process. It would be completely inappropriate to rule it out because we have been going through a process—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Listen to them shouting—because when it comes to the River Murray it's all about the politics, isn't it? It's all about the noise. It's all about the politics, the games, the slogans, the 'I heart the Murray'. No, what we care about on this side of politics is sustaining that river for our irrigators—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —sustaining it for the communities at the Lower Lakes and the Coorong. Noise, noise, noise. They don't give two hoots about the Riverland. They don't give two hoots. They care about their cheap five-second sound bite on Channel 7 news. They care about the social media post.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order, minister. One moment. I ask the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Cheltenham, be quiet. I ask for the interjections to cease, and the provocation and the rebuttal of the provocation as well. Member for Kaurna, for debate?

Mr PICTON: Debate.

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. The minister has the call. I would like to hear his answer.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Thank you, Deputy Speaker—Mr Speaker—

Mr Picton: The Speaker.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: As I have said many times, I do not need the member for Kaurna's tutelage in any way in this place—in no way whatsoever. And with the member for West Torrens out of the chamber, Mr Speaker, we get the protégé coming in behind him, don't we?

The SPEAKER: Minister, do not reflect on the whereabouts of members.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Anyway, back to the question, the very important question.

The SPEAKER: Come back to the question, or I will sit you down. I said, 'If you don't, I will sit you down.'

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I would like to wrap up by emphasising what an important period it is for the Murray-Darling Basin.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: We are making it very clear to other states that South Australia will not be trodden over on this. We have a desalination plant which can be used for the national effort. We will use it to help drought-stricken farmers, and that's what we are doing at the moment. We have no intention at this stage of seeing it used as a 450-gigalitre offset. We don't want to see that, but I cannot rule something out as being thoroughly investigated as a matter of goodwill, but prior to the ministerial council—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left, please.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —or at the ministerial council we will be in a position—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Settle. It's almost over.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —to underline our plans for the Desalination Plant.