Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. How many jobs does the minister expect to be created in the next four years through the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:58): I thank the deputy leader for that question. I don't have an exact figure on job creation in front of me, but I do believe it's in the region of several hundred jobs as that large infrastructure project is rolled out and the horticultural industry in that part of the state is expanded.

That project was commenced under the previous government. It had a significant federal contribution and is progressively being worked through. I understand that SA Water is in commercial-in-confidence negotiations with a number of proponents at the moment which will see the rapid expansion of the NAIS project.