Northern Water Project

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (14:33): On a supplementary to the Premier: where in the Upper Spencer Gulf is the Northern Water project proposal?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:33): I thank the member for Flinders for his question, because his community will be closely linked to this exercise. We released the business case in regard to the Northern Water project obviously a bit less than a couple of weeks ago, and then the business case states that Cape Hardy is, as it currently stands, the preferred location for the desal plant, and then the 600-kilometre pipeline will obviously take water from there to the northern reaches of the state. I want to be clear about something on the record. The Cape Hardy site, while the preferred site, is not necessarily the final site where the desal plant will be. I would characterise it as the preferred site, which means it is the most likely site, but there are other sites that we have contemplated, including at Mullaquana.

The between $200 million and $230 million feasibility study is closely examining, in a far greater degree of detail than what the business case has done, what those site options are, the engineering associated with it, what the costs are in particular, the environmental considerations and so forth. We hope that feasibility piece of work will conclude with the view of, if it all stacks up, reaching a final investment decision in the first half of 2026.

It is a massive piece of work. It is important that it is done thoroughly. The Northern Water project, as outlined in the business case, will be not less than $5 billion. I think it is safe to say it will not be surprising if it is north of that, although we have no interest, nor does BHP have an interest, in inflating that cost. The greater the cost of the infrastructure, the higher the price of the water, and that then starts to cause other challenges. It is in the member for Flinders' electorate, I think, Cape Hardy.

Mr Telfer: Only by 150 ks.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Okay, but you have a big electorate, I would say to the member for Flinders. The Cape Hardy site is the preferred site, but we will continue that engagement into the future. What will inform the final decision for the site, if indeed the feasibility stacks up, will be the environment and the economics. Engagement with local community is important, as it will be with Indigenous communities as well. We are committed to doing all those things thoroughly, as are the partners we have engaged with, BHP being the principal one.

But we should not talk about BHP as if it is the exclusive funder of the feasibility study. What this government has been able to do on the back of the hydrogen project, which was not necessarily an initial consideration of the efforts undertaken by those opposite, is that Amp Energy, Fortescue Future Industries and Origin are partners with us in this endeavour. They are particularly interested in the hydrogen opportunity, which this government is utterly committed to, obviously. They are all as committed as the government is in terms of having genuine community engagement.

We do not suggest for a moment this project is not complex. There will be moments of controversy, but as the Minister for Infrastructure and myself made clear today, the north-south program caused heartache. Compulsory acquisition is tough; people losing their homes, losing their businesses. It is a big price to pay. But we are not going to shy away from making the tough decisions, whether it be the location of the women's and kids' hospital or where we build the desal plant, including the desal plant to keep water going in Port Lincoln, as we have already demonstrated. We are a government that is willing to make the tough decisions to set us up for the long term.